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Student Outcomes that Measure the School’s Value-Added
July 20, 2010
Amada Torres &
Jefferson Burnett
Accountability has become the operative word in the national education lexicon, leaving the impression that, up until now, American private and public schools have been accountability-averse. Or that they have been unable -- perhaps even unwilling -- to demonstrate their value-added. Federal and state governments have wasted little time waiting for the public K-12 sector to self-evaluate, imposing standards and testing requirements through No Child Left Behind (which has its roots in the clarion call of the 1983 A Nation at Risk) and now with the nascent Common Core Standards. While independent schools have escaped mandated accountability reporting for now, they are not immune to externally imposed pressures to articulate their added value. Independent schools are now being challenged to show how their educational model generates what it does and how it is worth the investment. Whether it's federal or state government, current and prospective parents and students, or school faculty and staff asking the tough, challenging questions, independent schools need to be able to articulate their mission (and their value-added) in a tangible way. And, here's how they can do this: NAIS has identified and reviewed a number of value-added tools, ranging from alumni tracking and college matriculation to parent perceptions and student engagement. The tools are categorized by five types: school data, standardized tests, international tests, value-added tests, and student surveys. Consider using a tool or tools that best fits your school, mission, and community, knowing that the primary purpose for doing so is institutional assessment and improvement. (Click here to see a summative table of assessment tools and here for a more expansive review.) You will be stronger and more financially viable for doing so. - School Data: Based on the results of NAIS research and public opinion surveys, one of the key factors that parents look for in an independent school education is high quality teachers and challenging education. Consider using school data for assessment in the following three categories: teacher quality (advanced degrees and years of experience), academic rigor (student enrollment and performance in college "gateway" courses such as advanced math, science, and foreign language, AP courses, and the IB), and alumni success in college and thereafter (tracking alumni in their subsequent schools, colleges, and the workplace).
- Standardized Tests: Consider using instruments such as the ERB, PSAT, SSAT, ACT, and the SAT. The advantage of the ERB is that it provides schools with their own results by student, class, and school, compared to the national averages, so schools can identify areas for improvement (an advantage over the National Assessment of Education Progress). The PSAT and SSAT are frequently used by secondary schools while higher education relies on the ACT and SAT as part of their admission processes, offering very detailed information in terms of student performance that schools can analyze by gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc.
- Student, Parent, and Alumni/ae Surveys: While the results from standardized performance tests are used to evaluate student knowledge, that data cannot pinpoint the specific educational processes that are linked to the outcomes the tests measure. Consider using the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE) as a complement to the other tests. View the endnote 1 to read about NAIS's pilot study of the HSSSE tool.
- Value-Added Tests: One of the challenges of standardized tests is that they only provide "snapshots," measuring student knowledge at a certain point of time. Any value-added test aims to assess the progress that students have experienced over time, often from the beginning of their education until their graduation. The advantage of value-added testing is that it shows growth from a starting point and thereby factors out other variables such as class or race. Consider using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) from the Northwest Evaluation Association. Scroll down to endnote 2 to read about NAIS's pilot study of the MAP tool, College Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA) [scroll down to see endnote 3] from the Council for Aid to Education, the Children's Progress Assessment (CPAA) offered by ERB, or ETS's Cognitively Based Assessment of, for and as Learning (CBAL).
- International Tests: Given our flattening world, independent school students need to prepare to compete in an international environment, demonstrate that they can face the challenges posed by the new economy, and show that they have the skills demanded by the 21st century. Consider participating in the ISA test. ISA is the commercial, school-version of the international testing PISA, administered in the 35 industrialized nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (plus an additional 55 other countries). The PISA and ISA tests measure reading, math, science, and critical thinking skills and provide the basis for international comparisons of education systems and student learning.
- Articles of Note:
- Website of Note:
In addition, secondary schools can purchase a report periodically from HERI, the Higher Education Research Institute, based on their students' survey responses to HERI's annual college freshman survey, published in The American Freshman. This survey provides fascinating benchmarks against all other freshmen on their experiences in the last year of high school and their attitudes and aspirations.
Lastly, parent and alumni/ae surveys offer an invaluable resource of information about their school experience, both of which are available at NAIS's Independent School SurveyBuilder.
1. High School Survey of Student Engagement - HSSSE is a survey that offers teachers and administrators actionable information on school characteristics that shape the student experience. HSSSE was completed by 200,000 students from high schools across 29 states in 2004 and 2005. HSSSE data can identify student engagement and school features that affect outcomes. Its primary activity is to conduct an annual survey to assess the extent to which high school students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development. These data are powerful because they pertain to school features that personnel can modify fairly quickly, and often inexpensively, to facilitate student learning. Each participating school receives a customized report that includes a brief overview of aggregate findings. Also, each report contains useful data comparing the individual school's students with all other HSSSE respondents along various dimensions, as well as a CD containing the school's data and other valuable information. Between October and December 2008, NAIS completed a pilot with 15 member schools to evaluate the instrument's value and ease-of-use. HSSSE was administered to more than 3,800 students in 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. Schools received their own results compared to all other schools taking HSSSE. These results were analyzed under three dimensions of engagement: cognitive/intellectual/academic engagement, social/behavioral/participatory engagement, and emotional engagement. Participants found it easy to implement and a very helpful assessment tool. One drawback cited was the lack of time for digesting the amount of data received. Special Price
Indiana University has agreed to extend the special price negotiated by NAIS during the pilot to all member schools participating in the 2009-2010 HSSSE: $100 flat fee plus $1.5 per each student taking HSSSE. To get this special price, make sure to enter "NAIS" in the "Other" field when answering how you heard about HSSSE in the registration form. This is the only way for Indiana University to confirm that you should receive the special price. 2. Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) - MAP is a computerized adaptive assessment program that measures academic progress for K - 12 students in math, reading, language, and science. It identifies skills and concepts students have learned and helps to diagnose instructional needs of students. The information helps teachers provide true individualized learning strategies for their students. A number of private schools have participated in MAP, and it is currently being piloted by the Near Eastern South Asia Association of Independent Schools (NESA) with 17 of its schools to much acclaim. Participating schools have access to a wide variety of NWEA reports. These reports provide timely results that are tailored to all members of a student's learning team. With NWEA reports, educators can evaluate how they are impacting the academic growth of each student, diagnose the instructional needs of every student, examine trends over time to evaluate program effectiveness, and guide staff development plans. The purpose of assessment is to obtain meaningful results that educators use to improve student learning. Between October and December 2008, NAIS completed a pilot with five member schools to evaluate the instrument's value and ease-of-use. MAP was administered to students in middle and upper school in math, reading, English language, and science. For the most part, teachers and division heads found MAP to be an extremely helpful assessment tool. Two drawbacks were cited: schools with non-English speaking students found the process to be difficult due to language comprehension issues (which would affect outcomes); and, the technical requirements were time consuming for some of the schools. 3. College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA) - CWRA is specifically designed for high schools and measures how students perform on tasks requiring "critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication skills." The purpose is to ultimately measure an institution's value-added to the development of these "higher order" skills. CWRA is being piloted with a number of independent schools, including St. Andrew's (DE), Hotchkiss (CT), and Lawrenceville (NJ). It is based on the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) tool developed by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE) with the RAND Corporation for higher education. Participating schools receive Institutional Reports and Student Data files. All results are kept in strict confidence, and school results are only reported anonymously. Special Price
NAIS member schools receive a five percent discount off of the per student price.
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