A K-3 school-level growth measure was estimated and examined, with validity and precision concerns suggesting cautious use for accountability¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r? · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2022: tool and model accuracy changes quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A K-3 school-level growth measure was estimated and examined, and identified concerns about its validity and precision suggest it should be used for accountability with caution. → Lisa Dragoset 2019

Evidence¶

Lisa Dragoset 2019¶

Lisa Dragoset, Cassandra Baxter, Dallas Dotter, Elias Walsh. (2019). Measuring School Performance for Early Elementary Grades in Maryland. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education, Evaluation, and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/measuring-school-performance-for-early-elementary-grades-in-maryland

q2 · i? · associational · r?

The report's Key Findings state that a K-3 school-level growth measure was estimated and examined, and that "concerns about its validity and precision" suggest cautious use for accountability.

"A K–3 school-level growth measure was estimated and examined. The study identified some concerns about its validity and precision that suggest it should be used for accountability with caution."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Schools' K-3 growth estimates are likely less valid than grade 3-4 growth estimates but have similar precision — related
• Teachers of students with hard-to-predict achievement levels tend to have less precise value-added estimates than teachers of other students — related
• Empirical Bayes shrinkage increases the precision of value-added estimates and reduces their absolute value for teachers of hard-to-predict students — related
• Including track indicators and classroom achievement controls simultaneously reduces precision of value-added estimates — related
• The study's correlational, cross-sectional design limits internal validity and causal interpretation — related
• Schools' K-3 growth estimates are much less precise for smaller schools than for larger schools — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Administering the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment to a subset of students per classroom greatly reduces precision of schools' K-3 growth estimates — related
• Maryland lacked a measure of schools' support of academic growth from kindergarten to grade 3, creating a critical accountability need under ESSA — related
• Educator evaluation systems combine student growth measures with other performance measures such as classroom observation scores to identify highest- and lowest-performing teachers — related
• Value-added error rates apply to measuring both teacher and school performance in the upper elementary grades using student test score gain data — related
• The Memphis value-added model estimates school effects on student performance while adjusting for mobility, demographics, and measurement error — related
• Lower measurement error rates can be achieved when schools, rather than individual teachers, are the performance unit — related
• Students raised concerns that performance forecasts cannot capture personal circumstances affecting study — related
• About 14% of Grade 1 schools and 13% of Grade 2 schools were positive deviants whose growth exceeded the average growth confidence bounds — related
• Teachers rated classroom observation scores as the most accurate REACH measure of teaching effectiveness and value-added measures as the least accurate — related
• Growth measures offer a clearer, more accurate picture of learning than achievement data, while achievement data remains critical for tracking student progress — related
• State compensation rankings should be interpreted with caution because differences in value between ranks are often quite small — related