Dresden Elementary School

2013 Value-Added Achievement Awards Winner:   [custom_frame_left shadow=”on”][/custom_frame_left] Mike Laughrey, Dresden Elementary School First Place, West Division, Elementary Schools Mike Laughrey, Principal Dresden Elementary School 759 Linden Street, #B Dresden, TN 38225 Weakley County Schools Visit website   (Additional pictures below)   Materials related to the Dresden Elementary recognition ceremony: Press release from the event PDF of School Performance Chart showing Dresden Elementary’s ranking; or visit ECF’s online interactive tool to make a chart that shows other schools by name PDF of … Read More

Support the Education Consumers Foundation

Every year, public schools pour vast amounts of money into self-congratulatory reports and public communications designed to build and maintain a favorable image.  Smaller school districts have staff designated as communications specialists and larger ones host entire public relations offices.  Many are members of a national organization with hundreds of members:  The National School Public Relations Association.  Their role is to inform the public but they selectively highlight successes and favorable events while minimizing anything that would detract from … Read More

Second Opinion Examples

  A Report to the Nebraska Board of Education, September 9, 1999 Testimony to the Select Committee on House Resolution 495, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, September 19, 2000 Teacher Training and Texas Education Reform: A Study in Contradiction; Austin, Texas; November 7, 2000 Improving Teacher Quality in Oklahoma: A Closer Look, October 2001 (print version) Wasting Time and Money, Why So Many Nevada Students are not Ready for College, Spring 2004 Homeschooling in Nevada:  The Budgetary Impact, Spring … Read More

Second Opinions

The Education Consumers Consultants Network is a partnership of experienced scholars and educators committed to the interests of education’s consumers – i.e., parents, taxpayers, and policymakers. It is affiliated with the Education Consumers ClearingHouse, a grassroots “Consumers Union” (publisher of Consumer Reports) for the consumers of public education. Just as there are law firms specializing in corporate law or consumer law, the Network specializes in serving the interests of education’s consumers. Our primary service is to provide Second Opinions to … Read More

Value Added Systems Elsewhere

Value Added Systems Elsewhere Value-Added Assessment in Other States Tennessee’s value-added assessment system, TVAAS, is the longest-running in the country. Other states have begun adopting this or similar growth models, and the U.S. Department of Education has increasingly encouraged the use of value-added programs by states to complement their focus on Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). For more information on the growing use of value-added assessment models in other states, and its support at the national level, review the … Read More

Video Introduction to TVAAS

School Performance in Tennessee: The Video Tennessee’s Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) provides important information on school performance to parents and others interested in effective education. To help consumers understand this sophisticated system, and to help them understand how to access and use its School Performance Charts, the Education Consumers Foundation has created a 10-minute video on the subject.

Student Projection Reports

One of the best-kept secrets in Tennessee education is the availability of Student Projection Reports. These reports, available to parents and guardians, show how a student has performed on past achievement tests and how he or she can be expected to perform in the future. They can help you determine whether your child is on a path to success, or if you need to seek additional help before it’s too late. Where the Data Comes From The Tennessee Department … Read More

Shared Practices of Effective Principals

Educational Practices of Six Effective Tennessee Schools In April and May of 2007, researcher Guy Bruce visited six elementary and middle schools in Tennessee whose principals were recognized through the Value-Added Achievement Awards. By visiting these schools – some of the most effective in the state – he hoped to identify the practices that they had in common that might contribute to solid student learning gains. He identified 12 distinct practices, all of which are related to the … Read More

Value Added Achievement Awards

How School Rankings and Awards Validated Data-Driven Improvement Tennessee has gained a substantial measure of reform success because of local and statewide public and policymaker awareness of the objectively measured increases in student achievement produced by local schools. ECF’s school rankings played a key role.  They drew public and educator attention to the otherwise long-ignored TVAAS data and gave public recognition to the schools that were producing superior achievement gains.  For the first time, public attention was drawn … Read More

Value Added Data Analysis

Practical Applications of Value-Added Data in Tennessee Tennessee has the most sophisticated value-added data system in the country; this system called the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) shows how effective local schools are in helping their students to reach their academic potential – to “be all that they can be.” In addition to serving as the basis for Education Consumers Foundation’s Value-Added Achievement Awards and its School Performance Charts, TVAAS data shows the relationships between poverty, level of student achievement, and … Read More

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