The Value of Value-Added: Science, Technology, and Policy in Educational Evaluation

<p>In the first decade of the 21^st century, researchers and policymakers in K-12 education began to focus on evaluating teacher and school performance based on students’ standardized test scores. One evaluative technique, value-added assessment (VAA), has been given particular attention. This research presents a comprehensive study of the theoretical, technical, historical and political dimensions VAA. Theoretically, the assumptions that underlie value-added diverge significantly from the observed operations of the schools and classrooms these models are supposed to evaluate. Technically, even if the theoretical assumptions are accepted, teachers’ actual value-added rankings are shown to be unstable across time periods and classrooms for individual teachers based on publicly-available data from New York City schools. Historical discourse analysis shows how the political and technical evolution of VAA fit a pattern common to prior technical innovations in educational assessment. Finally, making a case study of the <em>Vergara v. California </em>trial, this research demonstrates the political force of VAA data in spite of its known limitations. These findings are considered in the context of sociological theories of science and policy. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor

The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York

Year dc:date.available

2017

Author dc:creator

• Douglas, Daniel

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Paul Attewell

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Stanley Aronowitz
• Philip Kasinitz

• Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
• Educational Sociology
• Politics and Social Change
• Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies
• Science and Technology Studies
• Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
• Social Statistics
• Theory, Knowledge and Science
• Sociology of Education
• Assessment Policy
• Value-Added Assessment
• Science and Technology
• Standardized Testing

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1867

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:gc_etds-2887