A COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS FOR ESTIMATING SCHOOL EFFECTS AND TRACKING STUDENT PROGRESS FROM STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

This paper compares two leading approaches to analyzing standardized test data: leastsquares value-added analysis, used mainly to support accountability by identifying teacher and school effects; and Betebenner’s (2009) student growth percentiles method, which focuses on normative tracking of individual student progress. Applying both methods to analyze two-year progress in numeracy and reading in elementary and middle school, as reflected in Australian standardized test scores, we find that they produce similar quantitative indicators of both individual student progress and estimated school effects. This suggests that with minor modifications either methodology could be used for both purposes.