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4,300 visitors utilized the IU 13 Teacher Centers in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties in 2006-07 to create educational materials. |
Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVAAS)What is the Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVAAS)? The Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS) is a statistical analysis of achievement data that reveals academic growth over time for groups of students, such as those in a grade level or in a school. PVAAS is a tool that gives feedback to school leaders and teachers on student progress. It allows districts to follow student achievement over time and provides schools with a longitudinal view of student performance. PVAAS provides valuable information for teams of teachers to inform instructional decisions. PVAAS is not an additional test, but a useful tool to be used along with other data tools to help districts make data-informed decisions. What is the history of value-added assessments in Pennsylvania? In 2002, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) implemented a pilot project for selected districts to access a web-based assessment analysis called the Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVAAS). One hundred school districts were selected to participate in the project, which used a school’s historical assessment information to demonstrate measures of the school’s influence on indicators of student learning. In the fall of 2006, using the PSSA assessments as a common statewide assessment, PVAAS was implemented statewide, providing all 501 school districts with access to limited reports. As the system evolves and PSSA data increases, PVAAS will provide increasingly comprehensive reporting beginning in the fall of 2007. How does PVAAS work? PVAAS reports are the result of analyses of students’ performance on the PSSA over time. These analyses produce a precise and reliable estimate of a cohort of students’ growth compared to a Growth Standard. The Growth Standard specifies the minimal designated academic gain from grade to grade for a cohort of students. Value added information for groups of students provides additional information for a school or school district to use when evaluating the effectiveness of its practices, rather than inferring a school’s effectiveness by just examining static school performance. PVAAS also provides information on individual students by allowing schools to project a student’s probability of being proficient on a future PSSA assessment. School districts can then use this information along with other student data to determine if a student may need additional help to reach the desired proficiency goals. What are the benefits of PVAAS? PVAAS methodology follows the progress of a group of students over time and empowers all school districts with the benefits of rigorous statistical analyses that produce the results in an easily understood format. Reporting is at the fingertips of users, available in a secure-access web delivery. PVAAS gives the option of looking at growth and growth patterns, rather than static performance of groups of students. Unlike typical achievement reports, which may reveal below average performance, PVAAS reports growth over time, thereby allowing these districts to see where growth is occurring even though overall achievement rates may be below benchmark performance. What training and support are available? Implementing PVAAS will require a comprehensive support structure and professional development opportunities. A core team with expertise in PVAAS will continue to provide support statewide with Intermediate Unit Teams providing support to build capacity in local school districts. More information on PVAAS as well as value-added professional development opportunities and resources are on the PDE website (http://www.pde.state.pa.us/a_and_t/cwp/view.asp?a=108&Q=108916&a_and_tNav=|6429|&a_and_tNav=). Specific questions may be emailed to pdepvaas@iu13.org or call (717) 606-1911. Developed and administered in collaboration between the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13. |
