VAMboozled! is a blog about the issues surrounding teacher evaluation, teacher accountability, and value-added models (VAMs) in America’s (and sometimes other nations’) schools. VAMboozled! is also about the related issues surrounding America’s educational reform and accountability initiatives, and the federal and state policies being advanced, incentivized, adopted, and implemented across the nation. While other education blogs might focus on more general education topics, this blog is focused only on these issues, as current and controversial as they continuously are. The goal is to make more comprehensible and more accessible research-based information about these issues, and to better reach and inform teachers, administrators, policymakers, parents, students, and members of the general public, all of whom are stakeholders and who might want to be informed and involved.
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- November 2013: Blog went live; May 2014 ≈ 3,000
- November 2014 ≈ 8,000; May 2015 ≈ 13,000
- November 2015 ≈ 15,000; May 2016 ≈ 16,000
- November 2016 ≈ 15,000; May 2017 ≈ 20,000
- November 2017 ≈ 24,000; May 2018 ≈ 36,000
- November 2018 ≈ 43,000; May 2019 ≈ 46,000
- November 2019 ≈ 47,000; May 2020 ≈ 48,000
- November 2020 ≈ 49,000; May 2021 ≈ 49,000
- November 2021 ≈ 51,000
I am looking into what research has to say about the average growth for students with a disability in reading and math. Do you know of any good research that relates to this topic? If so, please email to me. Thank you, Kim Sims
There are no references of which I am aware that only examine/discuss the VAM-related issues pertaining to students with disabilities, but here are some that discuss these issues in the most depth (even though in more peripheral ways). You can find these references under the “Glossary” link: Baker et al., 2010; Corcoran, 2010; Hill, Kapitula, & Umlan, 2011.
There is a positive correlation between students in poverty and disabilities.
Therefore, teachers of students at-risk have the additional burden of teaching students with disabilities, which makes their evaluation of student learning even worse. Just another reason why VAM estimates are not valid.
http://cec.metapress.com/content/d70331247mm11432/
A Google Scholar search using “poverty students with disabilities” will reveal some research and and a national survey exposing this problem.
On VAMs and disability, Dan McCaffrey and Heather Buzick have a “Knowledge Brief” at http://www.carnegieknowledgenetwork.org/briefs/teacher_disabilities/. Dan has written much on VAMs and Heather is an expert on teaching people with disabilities.
Impressing numbers (and nice data display!)