There are many ways to use student test scores to evaluate schools. This paper defines and examines different estimators including regression-based value-added indicators, average gains, and successive cohort differences in achievement levels. The paper helps assess which methods provide useful...

Describes how various components of Mathematica's complex study fit together and explains perspectives and principles related to 1) distinguishing implemented programs from intended ones, 2) ensuring broad coverage to explore competing theories of effective programming, 3) collecting...

This report describes the value-added models (VAMs) created for the Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. Pittsburgh's VAMs use not only state assessments but also course-specific assessments, student attendance, and course completion rates, aiming to produce...

This working paper compares teacher/student links that have undergone a roster confirmation process—whereby teachers verify the subjects and students they taught—to teacher/student links from unconfirmed administrative data. Due to the departmentalization of instruction in math and...