Measuring Student Growth in Tennessee: Understanding TVAAS | Page 2

OCTOBER 2014

TAKING NOTE

added measures, when employed in combination
with other effective evaluation tools, offer schools the
opportunity to assess and improve student access to
high-quality teaching, maximizing students’ potential for
growth throughout their educational career.8

HISTORY OF TVAAS
In Tennessee, the Tennessee Value-Added
Assessment System (TVAAS) was developed in an
attempt to measure the impact teachers have on
students’ academic growth. TVAAS was created on
the foundational belief that “society has a right to
expect that schools will provide students with the
opportunity for academic gain regardless of the level
at which the students enter the educational venue.”9
In other words, those schools or teachers labeled as
most effective by a TVAAS measure should be those

PAGE 2

who provide high-quality educational opportunities for
all students.10
In the late 1980s, Dr. William L. Sanders and Dr.
Robert A. McClean of the University of Tennessee
used longitudinal data to measure the impact
different teachers had on student outcomes, laying
the foundation for the statistical model employed
in TVAAS. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s,
Tennessee passed several pieces of legislation that
emphasized the importance of statewide assessment
and accountability systems on the path toward
Tennessee’s education improvement goals.11 TVAAS
was one recognized measure that could be used to
evaluate Tennessee’s progress toward accomplishing
its educational goals. This research and legislation laid
the foundation for the use of TVAAS in Tennessee’s
education system today. Table 1 outlines the history of
TVAAS in Tennessee:

TAKING NOTE

OCTOBER 2014

VALUE OF TVAAS MEASURES
Accurate TVAAS data has the potential to help
stakeholders at all levels of the education system
promote high-quality teaching and contribute to

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improved achievement for all students. Tables 2-4
outline how teachers, principals, district leaders, and
state policymakers can use TVAAS data to improve
student achievement in Tennessee.

How does TVAAS help teachers?
Student Support
TVAAS data have the potential to facilitate meaningful conversations between teachers and students about a student’s strengths
and to set goals for students’ academic growth during the school year. TVAAS data provide teachers with information that can
help them identify students in need of early intervention and to group students based on their unique needs. These practices help
teachers differentiate their instruction for different groups of students, improving students’ potential for growth.

Instructional Improvement
TVAAS data allow teachers to reflect on their instruction, illuminating instructional strengths as well as opportunities for growth.
This kind of data-driven self-reflection allows teachers to identify strengths and weaknesses in certain subject areas and with
certain groups of students.19

1992
Education
Improvement Act
The Education
Improvement Act
introduced TVAAS in
1992, requiring the
state to monitor student
gains.12 13

1993-2010
TVAAS Reports

2010 First
to the Top Act

Principals and teachers
received TVAAS reports
annually, but these
reports were only
informational. There was
no standardized method
for discussing or utilizing
these results.14

TVAAS data was
incorporated into
Tennessee’s teacher
evaluation system.
This required 35% of
a teacher’s summative
evaluation to come from
TVAAS scores.15 16

2013 Teacher
and Principal
Evaluation Policy
Teachers were given
the option of having
TVAAS account for an
additional 15% of their
summative evaluation
scores if they scored a
3, 4, or 5 on TVAAS.17

Table 1

TVAAS uses data from Tennessee’s achievement tests
to calculate yearly growth for all students in the state.
To calculate yearly growth for students, TVAAS looks
at a student’s past testing data and predicts his or
her growth based on the average growth of students
statewide with similar initial levels of achievement. This
component of the TVAAS model is meant to ensure
that a students’ initial achievement level will not affect
the accuracy of the measure.18 While other growth

models explicitly adjust for students’ background
characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and poverty
status, TVAAS uses students’ prior achievement levels
to account for these factors. A TVAAS score for a
teacher is determined by looking at the amount of
growth above, below, or just at expectations that each
of the teacher’s students make in a given school year.
Each student’s growth is compared to the growth they
were predicted to make during that school year.

1207 18th Avenue South, Suite 326, Nashville, TN 37212 — tel [phone] — fax [phone] — www.tnscore.org

Teacher Collaboration
TVAAS data can also set the stage for more directed and effective collaboration between teachers. This data can help principals
identify highly effective teachers who can serve as instructional leaders and mentors for newer teachers or teachers struggling with
specific areas of instruction.20
Table 2

TVAAS Shifts
the Conversation
from Proficiency
to Growth:
Norman Smith
Elementary

Norman Smith Elementary, a school serving over 600 students in grades prekindergarten to five in Middle Tennessee, has achieved high levels of growth over
the last three years. If you ask school leaders at Norman Smith what makes them
so successful, one of the things they point to is building the confidence of their
students. Former principal Beth Unfried explains, “We have to provide opportunities
for students to have success in school. Once they experience success, they want it
even more.”21 One of the things Norman Smith staff point to as a key to helping all
students experience success is their continued focus on growth. Using TVAAS and
other growth data, teachers at Norman Smith are able to set overall growth targets
for students and incremental milestones along the way that help students build
self-confidence and perseverance. Unfried cites TVAAS and other growth data as
a game changer for students from low-income backgrounds. She emphasizes, “If
students are never celebrated for their growth, then they feel defeated. It’s not always
about students making 100 percent on the test. For some students, going from a 20
percent to a 60 percent is just as important.”22

1207 18th Avenue South, Suite 326, Nashville, TN 37212 — tel [phone] — fax [phone] — www.tnscore.org