Measuring Student Growth in Non-Tested Subjects and Grades

Under Tennessees new evaluation model created through the First to the Top Act of 2010, 35 percent of an educators overall evaluation is a student growth measure. About 45 percent of Tennessees educators have an individual teacher effect score from TVAAS to be used as their growth measure; however, teachers in grades or subjects not tested through TCAP or an End of Course exam do not have individual TVAAS data. These educators are required by statute to have a comparable measure of student growth included in their summative evaluation. In order to meet this requirement, most teachers in non-tested subjects and grade levels will use a school-level growth score for the 2011-2012 school year. Over the course of the 2011-12 school year however, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) will continue to work closely with Tennessee educators and technical experts to identify, develop, and approve comparable, alternative growth measures in non-tested subjects and grades. To this end, TDOE is committed to piloting many alternate growth measures. Ultimately, in the long term districts will have discretion in choosing from high-quality, approved assessment options to yield a teacher growth score for evaluation. In order to ensure that the distribution of growth scores from these measures is comparable across assessments, across educator groups, and across schools in Tennessee, options for district use will be field-tested and results studied to ensure their appropriateness. The following chart outlines Tennessees expected plan to work towards growth measurement options for educators in non-tested grades and subjects. Estimated Percent of All Educators in Each Growth Score Category, 2011-14
TESTED Individual TVAAS Teacher Effect
20112012

NON-TESTED Approved Alternate Measure Options School-Level Value-Added

Development Team Recommended In Use While Under Development

45% 45% 50%

n/a 30-40% 40-45%

5% 5% 5%

50% 10-20% 0-5%

TDOE will work with districts and schools throughout the state to pilot possible alternate options for PreK-3rd Grade, world language, and most HS core areas (see piloting information). Additional pilot work with other educator groups will also be conducted in the coming 2011-12 school year with the hope of yielding further options for districts to consider. Use of any particular assessment will not be mandated by the TDOE, but rather will be approved as an option for LEA use. The process of piloting alternative growth measures is a critical element of Tennessees commitment to further developing and refining of the evaluation system. Tennessee is not claiming to have a perfect system, as the reality is of course that evaluation in every field is imperfect. The goal instead is to create the best possible system, and to continue to refine that system over time. As we roll-out evaluation processes and tools in the coming years we must continue to improve upon them in order to appropriately measure student growth and provide educators with meaningful information to inform ongoing development.

20132014

20122013

2011-2012 Growth Measures and Pilots

Subject Academic Interventionists Measure used in Evaluation School-wide Overall, Literacy, or Math Value-Added Composite School-wide Value Added School-level Literacy or Math Value-added Composite School-level Literacy Value Added Composite School-wide Value Added Use of data collected under Perkins reporting Use of ELDA as a Growth Measure Piloting or Under Development

Computer Technology*

CTE

ELL

Fine Arts

Peer-review Portfolio Assessment

Health-Wellness and PE

School-wide Value Added School-level Literacy or Math Value-added Composite School-level Value Added Literacy Composite School-level Value Added School-level Literacy Value-Added Composite School-level Reading and Math Value-added Composite 1

Subject Appropriate Assessment

HS Core Non-Tested

Subject Specific Course Tests

Library Media Specialists*

SPED

Goal Setting

World Languages

Subject Specific Assessments SAT 10 (K-2); Off-the-Shelf Assessments

Early Grades

* These development teams recommended the use of school-wide value added as their growth measure.
1 nd

For Pre-K to 2 Grade campuses, the school-wide value-added composite will come from the feeder campuses