Value Added Analysis and Assessment

Value-Added Modeling

Value Added (also known as the Education Value-Added Assessment) is an assessment tool that measures whether students are meeting the expected amount of growth from one school year to the next. This growth expectation is calculated by comparing the end of year state test performance of students with a similar historical pattern of test results. In other words, a student sitting in a classroom for one school year should show a typical year's worth of academic advancement. If a child does not show the expected growth there is time for classroom interventions to be applied to alter the student's academic direction.

Recently Ohio Representatives introduced House Bill 524: School Report Card- Ratings Review Value Added Progress Dimension to review the Value-Added progress measure and explore ways to use it more effectively. CMSD Assessment experts recently met with legislators to explain how the Value-Add tool works in the state of Ohio and to make recommendations. These recommendations include:

• Maintain usage of Value Added as it is the most reliable indicator of student progress in Ohio; it maintains high academic standards and holds our district accountable to the high standards outlined in the Cleveland Plan..
• Use the Value-Added evaluation tool more effectively by using a one year measurement that more closely reflects a student's gains or losses to provide timely interventions where needed for student success.
• Improve use fullness for data analysts by explicitly accounting for student characteristics such as special education and english language learner status in order to provide more accurate, transparent and equitable accounting of a student, school and district's progress.

The U.S. Department of Education research shows teacher quality is the single most significant factor to impact student learning. Teachers differ dramatically in their performance, with large consequences for students.
NCLB (No Child Left Behind) federal policy and its successor ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) require monitoring of student achievement and student growth to provide parents, taxpayers, and stakeholders tools to evaluate a school's success.

With both the state and federal legislative bodies focusing on growth measurements for students and educators, it is imperative that the state of Ohio maintain usage of the Value-Added evaluation tool to continue to monitor academic growth of Ohio students and encourage high accountability for all classrooms.

Stay tuned, this bill and subsequent ESSA rules and regulations will be revisited when the legislators return to session after the summer.