| When using student achievement data for evaluation of teachers, we are limited to either using value-added or student growth percentile techniques. We are proposing an alternative method that conceptualizes the process differently. We anchor our method in Item Response Theory (IRT). IRT methodologies are well established and already form the basis of most large scale assessments. For example, even though we are unable to directly observe a student's math ability we can estimate her math ability by observing her responses to a series of well aligned questions. In much the same way, we are unable to directly observe a teacher's instructional ability. Our proposed method requires a set of well aligned questions or items that can be used to estimate a teacher's instructional ability. Our conceptualization would designate the teacher's students as those items. By leveraging well established IRT practices, we can analyze responses to the items (students) and estimate a teacher's instructional ability.;Chapter 1 provides a brief history of teacher evaluation and an overview of currently used techniques. Chapter 2 presents the conceptual basis for the proposed method. Also, included in this chapter is an overview of the core analytical theory (IRT) and a guide to its proposed usage in the context of teacher evaluation using student test score data. Chapter 3 outlines the application and analysis plan for the proposed method and traditional methods to a statewide dataset. Issues concerning the application of the proposed method are also addressed in this chapter. Chapter 4 provides a discussion and comparison of the results from the application of the proposed and traditional methods. Lastly, chapter 5 provides a few brief comments and a short outline of future research concerning the proposed method. |
