In his October 21 Brown Bag lecture, Stanford University professor Edward Haertel addressed the reliability and validity of teacher value-added scores, asking the same kinds of questions that are routinely asked about other, simpler kinds of test scores.
Haertel notes, "Like all measurements, these scores are imperfect. They are appropriate and useful for some purposes, but not for others. Viewed from a measurement perspective, value-added scores have limitations that make them unsuitable for high-stakes personnel decisions."
Edward Haertel is the Jacks Family Professor of Education, Emeritus, at Stanford University. He is an expert in educational testing and assessment and has been closely involved in the creation and maintenance of California's school accountability system.
