Use of Value-Added in Teacher Evaluations: Key Concepts and State Profiles
March 2015
Author: Linda Wesson
This report was prepared in response to a request by the General Assembly’s House Education Committee. It includes profiles of seven states and districts (Tennessee, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Los Angeles, North Carolina, and Ohio) that are currently using or planning to use statistical growth models for teacher evaluation. Teacher evaluation systems vary considerably by state and can also vary by districts within a state. Among the most significant differences are: statistical models selected for measuring student growth; the grades and subjects for which the necessary standardized test data are available for such models; methods used for measuring student growth for courses and grades without standardized tests; methods to combine multiple evaluation components into a single overall evaluation score or rating; and levels of local control and flexibility allowed within the evaluation system.