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

Primer on Testing in Tennessee

Testing in Tennessee: A Primer for Parents Every state has a system for gauging student achievement. In Tennessee, it’s called the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP. The TCAP Achievement Test – a criterion-referenced achievement test given in grades 3-8 – is given once per year in the spring.  It measures student achievement in math, reading/language arts, science, and social studies. The TCAP Achievement Test is a version of McGraw Hill’s Terra Nova examination, customized to Tennessee’s curriculum. The … 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

Recommended Reading

Emily Hanford on Why Children aren’t Learning to Read Journalist Emily Hanford explains how teacher training grounded in flawed pedagogical theory has brought about decades of shockingly poor reading outcomes in American public schools.  Her reporting on the subject is the clearest of any observer in 50 years.      Clear Teaching Clear Teaching: With Direct Instruction, Siegfried Engelmann Discovered a Better Way of Teaching Written by veteran journalist Shepard Barbash over a period of 10 years, Clear Teaching is a … Read More

Schooling & Society

ECF has numerous tools to help keep you informed. Check out the links below for more detailed reports and articles. Americans Know Very Little About Local School Quality A cheating scandal involving teachers in Atlanta has captured national attention and revealed a profound breach of trust in the public education system. [small_button text=”Local School Quality” title=”Local School Quality” url=”http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-perspective/060613-659072-americans-show-shocking-ignorance-about-local-school-quality.htm” align=”left” target=”_blank” style=”light”]   Reversing American Decline Resources Links America’s current economic, social, and cultural directions to decades of … Read More

Teaching & Learning

ECF has numerous tools to help keep you informed. Check out the links below for more detailed reports and articles. Effective Schools, Common Practices Reading failure is imposing a hidden annual surtax: Find out how much your schools are contributing to the problem.  [small_button text=”Effective School Practices” title=”Effective School Practices” url=”/tnproject/EffectiveSchools_CommonPractices_ECF.pdf” align=”left” target=”_blank” style=”light”]   Learning Requires More than Play A decidedly different view of why successful students pay attention, complete their assignments, and succeed. [small_button text=”Successful Students” … Read More

School Districts Ranked by Teacher Effectiveness

posted in: Data Scoreboards |

In Tennessee and a few other states, teacher effectiveness can be assessed on the basis of the student achievement gains of their students.  ECF has a chart that ranks school districts by the effectiveness of their teaching staff.  Selective teacher hiring and retention policies can produce a profile with a high proportion of exceptionally effective teachers. Although there are exceptions like the reports that were undertaken by the Los Angeles Times, value added performance data for individual teachers is rarely available to … Read More

1 … 18 19 20 21