Special Issue of Educational Researcher Examines Value-Added Measures

  • 03/12/15

Washington, D.C. ─ The American Educational Research Association has published a special edition of its peer-reviewed journal Educational Researcher (ER) devoted to examining value-added measures (VAM). 

Since 2009, President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top initiative has brought on a wave of value-added-based accountability measures, with value-added now embedded in policy in more than 30 states. AERA’s journals have examined the validity and reliability of value-added measures over the past six years. This special issue of ER considers the key questions, the best available evidence emerging on the use of value-added, and the large remaining holes in the research literature in four feature articles, one essay, and three commentaries. 

Articles from leading scholars cover a range of topics, from challenges in the design and implementation of teacher evaluation systems, to the emerging use of teacher observation information by principals as an alternative to VAM data in making teacher staffing decisions. 

In their introduction, special issue editors Douglas N. Harris of Tulane University and Carolyn D. Herrington of Florida State University challenge researchers to participate in the important conversation about value-added by providing rigorous evidence, noting that successful policy implementation and design are the product of evaluation and adaption. 

The complete contents of the special issue, listed below, are provided at no cost by AERA. 

Special Issue of Educational Researcher on Value-Added Measures

Introduction to the Special Issue
“The Use of Teacher Value-Added Measures in Schools: New Evidence, Unanswered Questions, and Future Prospects,” by Douglas N. Harris and Carolyn D. Herrington

Feature Articles
“Using Student Test Scores to Measure Teacher Performance: Some Problems in the Design and Implementation of Evaluation Systems,” by Dale Ballou and Matthew G. Springer 
“Exploring the Potential of Value-Added Performance Measures to Improve the Quality of the Teacher Workforce,” by Dan Goldhaber 
“Make Room Value-Added: Principals’ Human Capital Decisions and the Emergence of Teacher Observation Data,” by Ellen Goldring, Jason A. Grissom, Christine Neumerski, Marisa Cannata, Mollie Rubin, Timothy Drake, and Patrick Schuermann 
“Teacher Perspectives on Evaluation Reform: Chicago's REACH Students,” by Jennie Y. Jiang, Susan E. Sporte, and Stuart Luppescu 

Reviews/Essays
“Will VAMs Reinforce the Walls of the Egg-Crate School?” by Susan Moore Johnson

Commentaries
“The Value in Value-Added Depends on the Ecology,” by Henry Braun 
“Can Value-Added Add Value to Teacher Evaluation?” by Linda Darling-Hammond 
“Value Added: A Case Study in the Mismatch Between Education Research and Policy,” by Stephen W. Raudenbush 

About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national professional organization devoted to the scientific study of education. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook and Twitter. 

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