Research

Teacher Effectiveness in Indiana

With funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, Mark Berends and David Stuit (Basis Policy Research) are examining value-added models of teacher effectiveness based on different assessments in mathematics and reading.  Value-added models refer to a collection of statistical techniques that are designed to estimate the “effects” of teachers (or schools) based on the changes in students’ test scores over time.  In theory, value-added models provide a more accurate estimate of what individual teachers contribute to student learning, but in practice they involve technical challenges and much debate.  Several states and districts are moving toward incorporating the results of value-added models into their evaluations of teachers and other human resource decisions (e.g., recruitment, termination, and compensation).  In light of this trend, it is critical for policymakers and practitioners to have a sound understanding of the technical issues related to the accuracy of teachers’ value-added estimates. To date, much of the technical research on value-added focuses on how different statistical models influence teachers’ value-added estimates.   Less attention has been paid to how different test scores used in the models influence teachers’ value-added estimates.  The purpose of study is to provide insight into this important issue to both policymakers and practitioners.

Catholic School Effectiveness

With funding from the Walton Family Foundation, the University of Notre Dame is initiating a project to collect and analyze student achievement data from Catholic schools across the country. The research will obtain longitudinal student test score and other outcome data from Catholic schools in nine cities across the United States, which data will then be used to study how students, schools, and communities contribute to student learning in Catholic schools and to help schools guide their improvement efforts.

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