Using Student Test Scores to Measure Teacher Performance – the State of the Art in Research and Practice

Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences

Location: Michigan State University Kellogg Center

Date: October 10-11, 2013

Conference Agenda Day 1

9:00-9:15Welcome by Donald Heller, Dean of the MSU School of Education

9:15-9:30Introductory Remarks by Cassandra Guarino

9:30-10:30Research Session 1: Bias and its Detection

  • Bias of Public Sector Worker Performance Monitoring:Theory and Empirical Evidence from Middle School Teachers
  • Douglas Harris and Andrew A. Anderson
  • Assessing the “Rothstein Test,” Does It Really Show Teacher Value-Added Models Are Biased?
  • Authors: Dan Goldhaberand Duncan Chaplin
  • Evaluating Specification Tests in the Context of Value-Added
  • Cassandra Guarino, Mark Reckase, Brian Stacy, andJeffrey Wooldridge

10:30-10:45Break

10:45-12:15Research Session 2: Specifications, estimators,and consequences

  • Disentangling Disadvantage: Can We Distinguish Good Teaching from Classroom Composition?
  • John Engberg, Juan Saavedra, Jennifer Steele, Gema Zamarro
  • Sensitivity of Teacher Value-Added Estimates to Student and Peer Control Variables
  • Matthew Johnson, Stephen Lipscomb, and Brian Gill
  • How Does a Value-Added Model Compare to the Colorado Growth Model?
  • Elias Walsh and Eric Isenberg
  • A Comparison of Growth Percentile and Value-Added Models of Teacher Performance
  • Cassandra Guarino, Mark Reckase, Brian Stacy, and Jeffrey Wooldridge

12:15-2:00Lunch

2:00-2:30Remarks by Jeffrey Wooldridge

2:30-4:30Panel discussion: Implementation Challenges in Measuring Teacher Performance

  • Representative from IES
  • Brian Gong, Executive Director, Center for Assessment
  • Rob Meyer, Director, Value-Added Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Harold Doran, American Institutes for Research
  • Ryan Balch, Director of Teacher, Leader, and School Effectiveness, Baltimore City Schools
  • Participating Researchers

6:00-8:00Reception at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum

Participants are free to make their own dinner arrangements

Conference Agenda Day 2

8:30-10:00Research Session 3 The Logistics of Who, How, and How Many

  • Is It Better To Estimate Value Added Using Elementary School Teachers?
  • Bing-ruTeh, Elias Walsh, and Eric Isenberg
  • Accounting for Co-Teaching with the Full Roster and Full Roster Plus Methods
  • Eric Isenberg and Elias Walsh
  • Incorporating End-of-Course Exam Timing into Educational Performance Evaluations
  • Mark Ehlert, Cory Koedel, Eric Parsons, Michael Podgursky, and Peng Xiang
  • Sending Value-Added into Tailspin: Measurement Error in Models of Teacher Performance
  • Cassandra Guarino, EunHye Ham, Mark Reckase, Brian Stacy, and Jeffrey Wooldridge

10:00-10:15Break

10:15-10:45Remarks by Mark Reckase

10:45-12:15Breakout sessions: Implementation issues, Data issues, Presentation to the public

12:15-1:30Lunch

1:30-3:00Panel discussion:Moving Toward Best Practices

  • Lou Fabrizio, Director of Data, Research, and Federal Policy, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
  • Mary Dean Barringer,Program Director Education Workforce, Council of Chief State School Officers
  • Howard Nelson, AFT
  • Tammy Howard, Director of Accountability Services, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
  • Participating Researchers

3:00-3:15Break

3:15-4:00Wrap up and Q&A

  • Cassandra Guarino, Mark Reckase, Jeffrey Wooldridge, and audience