The Implementation of the Value-Added Assessment to Determine School Effectiveness

Abstract

The aim of this study was to introduce the value-added assessment model, one of the approaches used in school and teacher evaluation, and to demonstrate its implementation on a real data set. In the study, success ratings for the schools were assessed through the value-added assessment model using TEOG (transition from primary to secondary education) exam scores of 539 secondary schools in Şanlıurfa province of Turkey. The school ratings based on the exam averages were also included. The differences were found between the ratings based on the value-added scores obtained in the study and the traditional ones depending only on the exam averages. It was concluded that it was not accurate to evaluate the school success solely by a specific exam average, and the value-added assessment approach, revealing how much the schools were differentiated from one exam to another, was decided to offer more objective results. The present study, serving as a model for the use of value-added assessment approach in Turkey, offers suggestions to assist school and teacher evaluation to be planned in the future.