A damning look at VAM

A damning look at VAM
A new report from the University of Pennsylvania explores how teachers' instructional alignment (content coverage) is associated with student learning and teacher effectiveness, as measured by composite evaluation measures including the value-added model (VAM). Researchers used a sub-sample of approximately 300 teachers from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation's Measures of Effective Teaching study and surveyed coverage of topics and levels of cognitive demand using the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) content taxonomies. Based on the sample, the researchers found weak associations of content alignment with student achievement gains, and no associations with the composite measure of effective teaching. This could indicate that instructional alignment and pedagogical quality are not as important as the standards-based reform theory suggests, or that instructional alignment and pedagogical quality are as important as previously thought but that the SEC and Framework for Teaching (FTT) do not capture important elements of instruction. Alternatively, decades of research underlying the SEC and FTT (and the other instruments in the MET study) have not identified what really matters in instruction. A third interpretation is that tests for calculating VAM cannot detect differences in content or quality of classroom instruction. Low correlations raise questions about the validity of high-stakes (e.g., performance evaluation) or low-stakes (e.g., instructional improvement) inferences made on the basis of value-added assessment data. Taken together with the modest stability of VAM measures, the results challenge the effective use of VAM data. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

Published by LEAP

Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.

Views: 60

▶ Reply to This

JOIN SL 2.0

SUBSCRIBE TO

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 2.0

Feedspot named School Leadership 2.0 one of the "Top 25 Educational Leadership Blogs"

"School Leadership 2.0 is the premier virtual learning community for school leaders from around the globe."

---------------------------

 Our community is a subscription-based paid service ($19.95/year or only $1.99 per month for a trial membership)  that will provide school leaders with outstanding resources. Learn more about membership to this service by clicking one of our links below.

 

Click HERE to subscribe as an individual.

 

Click HERE to learn about group membership (i.e., association, leadership teams)

__________________

CREATE AN EMPLOYER PROFILE AND GET JOB ALERTS AT 

SCHOOLLEADERSHIPJOBS.COM

New Partnership

image0.jpeg

Mentors.net - a Professional Development Resource

Mentors.net was founded in 1995 as a professional development resource for school administrators leading new teacher induction programs. It soon evolved into a destination where both new and student teachers could reflect on their teaching experiences. Now, nearly thirty years later, Mentors.net has taken on a new direction—serving as a platform for beginning teachers, preservice educators, and

other professionals to share their insights and experiences from the early years of teaching, with a focus on integrating artificial intelligence. We invite you to contribute by sharing your experiences in the form of a journal article, story, reflection, or timely tips, especially on how you incorporate AI into your teaching

practice. Submissions may range from a 500-word personal reflection to a 2,000-word article with formal citations.

© 2026   Created by William Brennan and Michael Keany   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service