Growth in Student Achievement: Issues of Measurement, Longitudinal Data Analysis, and Accountability VAM NCLB
- Author(s):
- Betebenner, Damian W.; Linn, Robert L.
- Publication Year:
- 2009
- Source:
- Paper presented at the Exploratory Seminar: Measurement Challenges Within the Race to the Top Agenda, Dec 2009
- Document Type:
- Paper
- Page Count:
- 23
- Subject/Key Words:
- Longitudinal Analyses, Value Added Models (VAM), Accountability, No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), Growth Models, Achievement Measures, ETS K-12 Center, Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge
Abstract
The widespread availability of annual student assessment results during the last decade has greatly expanded the use of assessment data nationwide. Fueled by federally mandated Grade 3 to 8 testing in reading and math, together with the ability to track individual student achievement over time, federal and state policy mandates (e.g., No Child Left Behind [NCLB] Act of 2001, Race to the Top, Colorado SB163‐08) have increased the stakes associated with student performance on state assessments. The intense interest in education accountability has led to a variety of methods to examine assessment outcomes for use in making judgments about education quality. Receiving particular interest are analyses of student academic growth. Growth models, as they are often called, have found favor as the preferred method for analyzing student achievement data for accountability purposes.