SACRAMENTO, CA - A key deficiency in California’s school accountability system is the state’s inability to track individual student test scores over time. Thus, it is impossible to discern the value added of curricula, programs, teaching methods, or other education policies on student performance. This situation may be changing, however, thanks to a bill recently approved by the state senate.

SB 1453 by state senator Dede Alpert (D-Coronado) would develop a longitudinal student data system to track student performance on the state’s various testing devices. The system would use a unique student identification number that would allow the tracking of an individual’s performance on state assessments through elementary, middle, and high schools. Schools would benefit greatly from the collection of such data.

Many school districts are not able to track student achievement from one year to the next. As a result teachers may not have prior-year assessment information, and thus not know the strengths and weaknesses of students. Further, districts may not receive assessment information for students coming from another district. Also, the data collection would allow for fairer comparisons of secondary schools, since individual performance data would be available for students coming from different elementary schools.

The longitudinal data can also be used for an array of value-added analyses. For example, the Florida Department of Education notes that under value-added analysis, “The progress of all students in a school can be reported in terms of individual teachers who provide instruction to those students.” Thus, it would be possible to tell what impact an individual teacher is having on student performance and to differentiate between effective and ineffective teachers by comparing the progress of students going through their classrooms.

Value-added analysis can also be used to demonstrate the worth or lack of worth of ballyhooed reforms such as national teacher certifications. Education professor J.E. Stone of East Tennessee State University, in a May 2002 study, conducted a value-added analysis on a sample of Tennessee teachers who had received certifications from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). California, like a growing number of other states, offers financial incentives for teachers to obtain NBPTS certification. The assumption, of course, is that certification equates to increased teacher quality, which will produce increased student performance.

Since Tennessee collects longitudinal student achievement data, it is possible to do a value-added analysis to determine if NBPTS-certified teachers increased student performance. According to Dr. Stone’s analysis, the NBPTS-certified teachers “cannot be considered exceptionally effective in terms of their ability to bring about student achievement.” Further, “the achievement gains made by their students are no greater than those made by students who had other teachers.” Based on the value-added analysis, Stone concludes that “public expenditures on NBPTS certification and teacher bonuses should be suspended until it can be clearly and independently established that NBPTS delivers what it promises.” In the meantime, state funds can be redirected to more effective programs proven through value-added analysis. For instance, value-added analysis may show that a particular phonics-based reading program has raised student performance and should be implemented more widely and receive more funding.

Given California’s budget deficit crisis, the state cannot afford to spend scarce tax dollars on ineffective programs. Value-added analysis is one way to prevent such misallocations of resources from occurring.

Lance Izumi is a Senior Fellow in California Studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. He can be reached via email at lizumi@pacificresearch.org.