1. Quantitative Measures: Measuring Student Learning
September 2011

2. Core Values of TEAM
Providing educators with a system of frequent and constructive feedback will support continuous improvement among our educators and students.
Supporting teachers’ individual strengths and development needs will result in improved instruction and student learning.
Recognizing and learning from our most effective educators will improve instruction, recruitment, retention and training across the state.
Combining observation data with student data generates a complete view of a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom.
TEAM and other evaluation models are based on several core values that are aimed at improving teacher practice to improve student performance.
Frequent and constructive feedback
Individualized professional development
Measuring student learning

3. The Overall Effectiveness Rating
The purpose of this training is to highlight:
Components of the quantitative side of the effectiveness rating which is based on measures of student learning.
Calculating the final score and effectiveness rating.
This training is relevant to all Tennessee educators regardless of the evaluation model being used. All effectiveness ratings include the student data component and are calculated in the same way.

4. 50% Quantitative: Student Growth and Achievement
Growth measure students’ progress between two points in time.
15% - Student Achievement
Achievement measures students’ performance at a single point in time and compares to a standard.
Student data makes up 50% of the final effectiveness rating.
35% is growth – measuring how much students progress during their time with you.
15% is achievement – measuring how students perform in comparison to set standards.
The key difference is that achievement only measures a student’s knowledge relevant to a standard regardless of prior knowledge and learning, while growth does not consider where a student is relevant to a standard, or proficiency. Growth measures how far your students progress during the school year.

5. 35% - Student Growth Measure
How do you measure growth?
The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) measures how much a student grows during the year compared to their projected growth.
How do you project growth?
Value-added data uses multiple years of student achievement data to develop a “growth pattern.”
With this pattern, we can project where he/she should be at the end of the school year.
TVAAS is our means of measuring growth. We expect that all students will grow, and based on student history we can project how far we think they will go – this is the “growth pattern.”
The growth measure compares the growth pattern (projected growth) to how much students actually progress.

6. 35% - Student Growth Measure
This student’s past performance provides enough data to “project” how much the student should grow this year.
The “value-added” measure is a comparison of the student’s projected growth to the actual growth.
If a student meets the projected growth – that’s good! That is a “3” in the TVAAS rating. Getting a 4 or 5 on the growth measure is earned from moving the student even farther than that projected growth. If the student does not meet the projected growth, then the TVAAS score will be a 1 or a 2.

7. 35% - Student Growth Measure
What data will be used to measure student growth for me?
Teachers with individual TVAAS scores: TVAAS*
Teachers without TVAAS scores:
For the school year, a school-wide value-added measure will be used; in some cases this will be a composite based on the content area (i.e. literacy or math).
This year, TDOE is piloting other growth options to ensure that many teachers have an approved alternate option for the school year.
TDOE is committed to working with educators and experts across the state to develop alternate measures that are fair and high-quality.
For educators who do not have individual TVAAS scores: The TN Department of Education has been working with teams of educators to develop measures that effectively measure growth for the non-tested subjects and grades. Under the First to the Top Act, the alternate measures must be comparable to TVAAS.
For this year, all educators who do not have individual TVAAS scores will use a school-wide value-added measure which may include a subject specific composite for some groups. For some of the non-tested subjects and grades, the Department of Education is working with districts to pilot alternate measures and determine what options can be made available beginning next year.
For most educators, the Department of Education does not view the school-wide measure as a permanent solution. (Note – there are some subjects where the educator groups recommendedthat the school-wide measure isas appropriate, these are identified on the following slide.)
* Data from all tested grades and subjects taught by an individual teacher are combined into the individual TVAAS score.

8. 35% - Student Growth Measure
Growth Measure for teachers without individual TVAAS scores
Subject
Measure used in Evaluation
Academic Interventionists
School-wide Overall, Literacy, or Math Value-added Composite
Computer Technology*
School-wide Value-added
CTE**
School-level Literacy or Math Value-added Composite
ELL
School-level Literacy Value-added Composite
Fine Arts
Health-Wellness and PE**
HS Core Non-Tested**
School-wide Overall, Literacy or Math Value-added Composite
Library Media Specialists*
School-level Value-added Literacy Composite
Special Education**
School Services Personnel
World Languages**
Early Grades**
School-level Literacy and Math Value-added Composite
For Pre-K to 2nd Grade campuses, the school-wide value-added composite will come from feeder campuses
This chart outlines the measures that will be used this year. One asterisk indicates subject areas where the development teams recommended the school-wide measure, therefore this is the growth measure. Two asterisks indicate subject and grade levels where alternate measures are being piloted.
As TDOE develops alternate measures, they will be phased in over several years. Additional information on this process is available in the Educator Resources section of the TEAM web pages (
*The development teams for these subject areas recommended the use of school-wide value-added as the growth measure.
**Alternate measures are being piloted this year or are under development, for more information visit

9. 15% - Student Achievement Measure
How do you measure achievement?
The State Board of Education has approved several measures that can be used*:
ACT/SAT Assessments
Graduation Rate/CTE Concentrator Graduation Rate
School-wide or Individual TVAAS
Completion/Success in Advanced Coursework
National/State Used Available Assessments
9th Grade Retention/Promotion
AP/IB/NIC Assessments
Other Measures Approved by State Board
Postsecondary Matriculation
The TEAM web pages provide a matrix of approved options for each educator group.
Note: For educators with individual TVAAS scores who score a 3, 4 or 5, an approved achievement measure must be chosen by Nov. 1 but the individual TVAAS score can be substituted for the chosen achievement measure when scores are available.
* List of approved measures will be reviewed and revised each year.

10. 15% - Student Achievement Measure
Each educator will meet with an evaluator by November 1 to select and scale the achievement measure.
During this conference, the educator and evaluator will:
Select an achievement measure.*
Choose ranges of outcomes that correspond to each effectiveness category (1-5) using student performance data that will be available by the end-of-the-year.*
Complete the Achievement Measures Worksheet.
During the fall conference, the educator and evaluator complete the Achievement Measure Worksheet: identifying the achievement measure selected and the way that this measure will be assigned a “rating” of 1-5.
At the end of the year, each educator and his/her evaluator have a conference to discuss the final qualitative rating, including the professionalism domain and the outcomes of the selected achievement measure. Though the “growth” data will not be available at this time, these components will allow for a discussion about the educator’s potential summative rating (effectiveness rating).
*For more information about approved measures and scaling achievement measures visit the TEAM web pages at

11. Student data in the effectiveness rating
Each evaluator and educator will have an end-of-year conference to discuss the observation scores as well as the outcomes of the selected Achievement Measure.
The growth data will be incorporated into the final rating when the data becomes available in June.
Teachers will be notified of the final rating over the summer.
The range of potential effectiveness ratings will be discussed at the end of year conference.
Each educator and evaluator will have an end-of-year conference to discuss:
The observation scores and final qualitative score
The Professionalism rating
If available - the final rating of the achievement measure based on the scaling determined during the fall conference
Range of potential final effectiveness rating
The final rating will be provided to teachers over the summer after the TVAAS data becomes available.