Limitations in the Use of Achievement Tests as Measures of Educators' Productivity

Koretz, Daniel

doi:10.2307/3069616

Cited by 167 publications

(134 citation statements)

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“…That is, while researchers have devoted significant energy to investigating the use of student test scores to evaluate teacher performance (e.g., Aaronson, Barrow and Sander, 2007;Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain, 2005;Rockoff, 2004;McCaffrey, Sass and Lockwood, 2009;Koretz, 2002;McCaffrey et.al. 2004;Sanders and Rivers, 1996), far less work has considered this usage in the context of principals (Lipscomb et al, 2010;Branch, Hanushek, & Rivkin, 2012;Chiang, Lipscomb, & Gill, 2012;Coelli & Green, 2012;Dhuey & Smith, 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

Using Student Test Scores to Measure Principal Performance

2012

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Expansion of the use of student test score data to measure teacher performance has fueled recent policy interest in using those data to measure the effects of school administrators as well. However, little research has considered the capacity of student performance data to uncover principal effects. Filling this gap, this article identifies multiple conceptual approaches for capturing the contributions of principals to student test score growth, develops empirical models to reflect these approaches, examines the properties of these models, and compares the results of the models empirically using data from a large urban school district. The paper then assesses the degree to which the estimates from each model are consistent with measures of principal performance that come from sources other than student test scores, such as school district evaluations. The results show that choice of model is substantively important for assessment. While some models identify principal effects as large as 0.15 standard deviations in math and 0.11 in reading, others find effects as low as 0.02 in both subjects for the same principals. We also find that the most conceptually unappealing models, which over-attribute school effects to principals, align more closely with non-test measures than do approaches that more convincingly separate the effect of the principal from the effects of other school inputs. AbstractExpansion of the use of student test score data to measure teacher performance has fueled recent policy interest in using those data to measure the effects of school administrators as well. However, little research has considered the capacity of student performance data to uncover principal effects. Filling this gap, this article identifies multiple conceptual approaches for capturing the contributions of principals to student test score growth, develops empirical models to reflect these approaches, examines the properties of these models, and compares the results of the models empirically using data from a large urban school district. The paper then assesses the degree to which the estimates from each model are consistent with measures of principal performance that come from sources other than student test scores, such as school district evaluations. The results show that choice of model is substantively important for assessment. While some models identify principal effects as large as 0.15 standard deviations in math and 0.11 in reading, others find effects as low as 0.02 in both subjects for the same principals. We also find that the most conceptually unappealing models, which over-attribute school effects to principals, align more closely with non-test measures than do approaches that more convincingly separate the effect of the principal from the effects of other school inputs. In contributing to the nascent literature on the use of student test score data to measure principal performance, this paper has four goals. First, it identifies a range of possible valueadded-style models for capturing principal effects...

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Using Student Test Scores to Measure Principal Performance

2012

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“…A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) suggested that American students were outperformed on international academic tests by students from other industrial societies (Thattai, 2001). As Koretz (2002) attested, "The growing use of standardized tests for accountability was the core component of educational reform movement of the decade. New state-mandated tests were implemented, some tests were made more difficult, and the consequences of scores for students, educators, and administrators were often increased" (p. 760).…”

Section: The Modern Assessment Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…New state-mandated tests were implemented, some tests were made more difficult, and the consequences of scores for students, educators, and administrators were often increased" (p. 760). Near the end of the decade, support for testing by researchers waned because of a growing awareness that coaching for these tests inflated scores and instruction was centered on the tests (Koretz, 2002;Shepard, 2000a), however, testing remained in place in educational systems.…”

Section: The Modern Assessment Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the seventies and early eighties, the minimum competency testing movement spread rapidly (Linn, 2000;Resnick, 1980). The decade began with three statewide assessments and ended with nearly 40 (Koretz, 2002;Stiggins, 1999). Minimum competency tests were most often relatively easy multiple-choice tests used as a requirement for high school graduation (Koretz).…”

Section: The Modern Assessment Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the federal level, the Economic Opportunity Act, which established Head Start, and the Elementary and Secondary Educational Act of 1965, or Title I (Resnick, 1980) were passed in an attempt to address gaps in educational attainment (Guskey, 2005). These laws were required to be monitored and standardized achievement tests became the primary means for doing so (Koretz, 2002).…”

Section: The Modern Assessment Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Standardized tests are tests that are administered under controlled (or “standardized”) conditions – specifying where, when, how, and for how long test‐takers may respond to questions. The test questions provide a way to gather, describe, and quantify information that assesses performance on particular tasks to demonstrate knowledge of specific topics or processes. Standardization is important to compare individuals or groups and involves a consistent set of procedures for designing, administering, and scoring the test. The aim of standardization is to ensure that test‐takers are assessed under the same conditions, assuring that their test scores have the same meaning and are not influenced by differing conditions. Such standardized tests occur over the life course, with a range of uses including determination of school readiness, achievement throughout the schooling progress for students, accountability for districts, schools, teachers, and students, capabilities for college, and achievement as employees in the workforce.

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Limitations in the Use of Achievement Tests as Measures of Educators' Productivity

Cited by 167 publications

References 23 publications

Using Student Test Scores to Measure Principal Performance

Using Student Test Scores to Measure Principal Performance

Review of Related Literature

Standardized Educational Tests

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