Might the FDA approach also serve
as a model to protect the intellectual
really measures up. The model has
three limitations.
health of the United States?
blindly adopting the value-added
models—they may be detrimental to
consumer health. Just as the FDA regulates foods and drugs, we need a Federal
Education Agency to provide the
science-based, accurate information that
educators need to be informed
consumers. Such an agency might warn
consumers about the benefits and risks
of the value-added assessment models
currently “prescribed.” To protect the
public good, such an organization might
examine whether the most popular,
widely adopted, sophisticated, and
expensive “over-the-counter” value-added model—the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS)
developed by William L. Sanders—
Limitation 1:
A Reliance on Standardized Tests
The EVAAS model relies on standardized tests to measure levels of change in
student learning. It’s unclear whether
standardized tests can accurately
measure what students know and are
able to do at one point in time, let alone
over time to measure “knowledge
added.” The effect of districts, schools,
and teachers on student learning is also
unclear; we need to consider whether
