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Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System

AUDREY AMREIN-BEARDSLEY is an assistant professor at Arizona State University, College of Teacher Education and Leadership, P.O. Box 37100, Phoenix, AZ 85069; audrey.beardsley{at}asu.edu. Her areas of interest are educational policy, research methods, and tests and assessments

Value-added models help to evaluate the knowledge that school districts, schools, and teachers add to student learning as students progress through school. In this article, the well-known Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) is examined. The author presents a practical investigation of the methodological issues associated with the model. Specifically, she argues that, although EVAAS is probably the most sophisticated value-added model, it has flaws that must be addressed before widespread adoption. She explores in depth the shortage of external reviews and validity studies of the model, its insufficient user-friendliness, and methodological issues about missing data, regression to the mean, and student background variables. She also examines a paradigm case in which the model was used to advance unfounded assertions.

Key Words: academic achievement • accountability • achievement gains • educational legislation • evaluation methods • K-12 education • measurement techniques • teacher effectiveness

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