Value-Added Assessment in Ohio

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The state of Ohio has recently passed legislation requiring value-added assessment to be part of its school performance index by 2007. Also, the Ohio Partnership for Accountability uses value-added assessment to measure the instructional impact of new teachers.
Other than Tennessee , where value-added has been in use since 1992, value-added has the most widespread use in Ohio . Working with EVASS operated by Dr. William Sanders in Cary , North Carolina , Battelle for Kids has sponsored a pilot (Project SOAR) in which 63 Ohio districts will use value-added assessment.ⁱ Project SOAR (Schools' On-line Achievement Reports) is an initiative in which a variation of Sanders' "value-added analysis" is applied to student performance data provided by participating school districts. The centerpiece of the project is the creation of a secure web-based database that school districts can use to view district, building, grade and student level student performance data. The program's value-added analysis of student performance data will assist districts in their efforts to focus instruction to improve performance, raise achievement levels and help students meet Ohio 's academic content standards. Battelle for Kids expects to be working with more than 100 volunteer school districts including urban, suburban, and rural districts, large and small districts, and districts that administer similar annual tests. These districts include approximately 900 schools and 300,000 students  more than 30% of Ohio 's students in grades 3-8.ⁱⁱ 
The University of Dayton , University of Cincinnati and The Ohio State University are leading a study that is examining the preparation, in-school support and effectiveness of Ohio teachers. All 50 of the state's colleges and schools of education are involved in the study. A major component of their investigations is value-added analysis. 
Ohio 's two major teacher unions, the Ohio Education Association and the Ohio Federation of Teachers, are backing the aims of the Teaching Quality Partnership, which will not report on individual districts, teachers or programs. "We will use the data to improve teacher preparation practices," said Thomas Lasley II, dean of the School of Education and Allied Professions at the University of Dayton and one of three co-chairs of Teaching Quality Partnership, initially known as Ohio Partnership for Accountability.ⁱⁱⁱ