Using (Unreliable) District-Level Value-Added Scores to Inform More Equitable School Funding Decisions

• In Event: Testing in Education: Validity, Access, Equity, and Choice

Abstract

In William Penn School District v. Pennsylvania Department of Education, defendants are using district-level Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS) estimates to argue that school funding does not affect student achievement. The primary purpose of this study was to examine what is currently known about using value-added estimates to make, substantiate, and uphold such determinations. Researchers found that using such estimates for these purposes is impacted by the same measurement issues (e.g., reliability) at play when VAMs are used at the teacher- and school-levels. The secondary purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of Pennsylvania’s districts’ PVAAS mathematics and reading estimates. Researchers found that district-level PVAAS reliability estimates were weaker in magnitude than those yielded elsewhere.

Authors

• Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Arizona State University

• Tray Geiger, Arizona State University