Value Added Modeling
Date: September 12, 2011
The use of value-added modeling (VAM) in school accountability is expanding.
However, trying to decide how to embrace VAM can be rather nettlesome. Some
experts claim it is "too unreliable," causes "more harm than good," and has "a
big margin for error"; while other experts assert VAM is "imperfect, but useful"
and provides "valuable feedback."
This webinar covers the rationale of using VAM in school accountability
systems, the underlying statistical assumptions of the models, the reliability
of VAM's estimates, and the validity of the inferences commonly made based on
the estimates of VAM. The webinar concludes with a discussion on the
perverse incentives, unintended consequences, and gaming that might accompany
accountability systems that put too much weight on VAM estimates.
Related Resources
- Download Presentation Slides: Value-Added Modeling: Rationale, Promises, Perils (MS PowerPoint – .7MB; 48 pages)
- Listen to the audio from the webinar
- Download MP3 Audio file (MP3 – 24MB)
Right-click (ctrl+click on Mac) the link above. Choose "Save Target As."
Date last updated: September 16, 2011