News & Publications

JUNE
2015

VARC's Brad Carl Serves on Marquette University Education Panel

A forum exploring key educational issues in Wisconsin, hosted by Marquette University, featured Bradley Carl, the associate director of the Value-Added Research Center (VARC), a Wisconsin Center for Education Research project. READ MORE

ApRil
2015

Carl Featured in State Journal Article on Testing Opt-Outs

An article in the Wisconsin State Journal covering the rising trend of parents opting their students out of the state’s standardized exams relies on the expertise of Bradley Carl, VARC’s associate director. READ MORE

JAN
2015

Bradley CarlVARC's Brad Carl Comments on School Accountability Legislation

A new bill proposed in the Wisconsin State Assembly - the first of the 2015-2017 legislative session - was introduced Wednesday and aims to make significant changes to the way the state handles low-performing public schools. READ MORE

SEPT
2014

Partner with VARC

VARC is currently looking for a partner with project management expertise, preferably in the Chicago area, who can both (1) serve as a liaison with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and (2) help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of internal processes and procedures by leveraging PM skills organization-wide. We are looking to build a partnership for an opportunity with CPS on Student Growth Measures but are open to discussing a partnership for other upcoming opportunities as well.

Please submit any inquiries to varc_opportunities@workspace.wcer.wisc.edu

AUG
2014

The Brookings InstitutionBrookings Institute: VARC Provides Useful Explanation of Value Added’s Role in Teacher Evaluation

VARC is receiving kudos for its simple and effective explanation of how value added is used in teacher evaluations. READ MORE

JULY
2014

Grant SimVARC's Sim Featured by La Follete School of Public Affairs Blog

Grant Sim, who graduated with a master’s degree in public affairs from the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2008, is the subject of an alumni profile published July 7. READ MORE

JUNE
2014

VARC to Co-Host Value-Added Network Conference in Madison

VARC will co-host a daylong gathering in Madison on Monday, June 23 designed to give Wisconsin's educators a better idea of how value-added modeling can be used to improve teaching and learning in Wisconsin. READ MORE

JUNE
2014

Steve KimballCPRE, VARC Team Up to Help Build Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System

In 2010, Wisconsin State Superintendent Tony Evers convened an Educator Effectiveness Design Team, representing Wisconsin educational stakeholders and partners, to develop an evaluation system that would give more detailed and accurate feedback on the performance of the state’s educators. READ MORE

April
2014

Annalee GoodAnnalee Good, VARC to Study Milwaukee Tutoring Program

The Value-Added Research Center and VARC Researcher Annalee Good, an expert on tutoring programs, have received a grant from Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) and the U.S. Department of Education to study how a district after-school tutoring program is helping its students learn. READ MORE

JAN
2014

Grant SimVARC Hosts SAGE Winter Summit

VARC hosted a winter summit for partners in Wisconsin’s Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program, a multi-method longitudinal evaluation exploring the implementation and outcomes of a statewide class reduction program. READ MORE

JAN
2014

David KangKang Leads Analysis of Raj Chetty Study

Value-Added Research Center (VARC) Researcher David Kang presented an analysis of a groundbreaking 2012 study, which used value-added to measure teacher quality, to a group of VARC staff including VARC Director Rob Meyer on Wednesday, Jan. 15. READ MORE

DEC
2013

PISAVARC Convenes Roundtable to Evaluate PISA

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the Value-Added Research Center convened a staff roundtable discussion to review the results of the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). READ MORE

NOV
2013

VARC Hosts Union Discussion Session

Valuing teachers unions as important partners has always been a priority for the Value-Added Research Center - particularly in the crafting of teacher evaluation systems. READ MORE

NOV
2013

Bradley CarlVARC's Carl Addresses Wisconsin's Achievement Gap

Bradley Carl, a Researcher and Associate Director with the Value-Added Research Center, was interviewed by The Capital Times following the release of Wisconsin’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test results on November 7. READ MORE

NOV
2013

Student Learning Objective (SLO) Examples and Processes around the U.S.

By Liz Barkowski. During the summer, Nandita Gawade and I, both researchers at the Value-Added Research Center, presented at the South Carolina Association of School Administrators’ Innovative Ideas Institute in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Institute provided professional development for school administrators, arming them with tools and resources to help improve their schools. READ MORE

OCT
2013

The Importance of Linking Teacher Evaluation to Teacher Hiring

A recent blog by Laurie Walters proposes that the Los Angeles Unified School District change the way it hires teachers. One of Walter’s proposals calls for schools to develop rubrics based on “school goals, culture and mission” for rating applicants during the hiring process. READ MORE

SEPT
2013

Rob MeyerVARC’s Meyer to Serve on Panel at National School Measures Summit

The Value-Added Research Center’s Executive Director Rob Meyer will be a featured panelist at the 2013 School Measures Summit on Oct. 1 in Washington, D.C. READ MORE

SEPT
2013

Common CoreCommon Core Testing and Value Added

Many states and districts are implementing Common Core State Standards. In the 2014-2015 school year, most of these states will see new tests aligned to Common Core. READ MORE

AUGUST
2013

Activity AidsActivity Aids Teaching of Value Added

A new activity created by VARC is helping educators around the country gain a better understanding of what value added is and how it works. READ MORE

JULY
2013

Jason TadlockQ&A with Wheatland (WI) Superintendent Jason Tadlock

Jason Tadlock is the superintendent of Wheatland School District in southeastern Wisconsin. Tadlock has used value added for more than seven years to raise his district’s student achievement numbers. READ MORE

JULY
2013

VARC Early Warning Indicator Helps Milwaukee Address High School Dropout Rates

A collaborative effort on early warning systems by researchers at the Value-Added Research Center (VARC) seeks to give the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) a better tool to reduce its high school dropout rate, according to a paper recently published in the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR). READ MORE

JUNE
2013
Conference

Educators Learn Value of Value Added at Statewide Conference

Critical changes are taking place inside the Wisconsin public educational system - among them the implementation of Common Core standards, next-generation assessments, and value-added measures. READ MORE

MAY
2013
Dan Marlin - Courtroom to Classroom

Q&A with Ray Kluender, National Bureau of Economic Research

Ray Kluender worked at VARC for two years while an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he triple-majored in economics, political science, and mathematics. Ray is now a research assistant at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and will be entering MIT’s Ph.D. program in economics in the fall of 2013. READ MORE

MAY
2013
Dan Marlin - Courtroom to Classroom

Courtroom as Classroom: Law as a Lens for Education Reform

Dan Marlin, a graduate student enrolled in VARC Director Rob Meyer's Education Policy and Reform class at the LaFollette School of Public Affairs, takes the role of plaintiff's attorney in a mock trial of the Vergara v. California case, which Meyer's class has been studying. READ MORE

MAY
2013
Sarah Archibald and Rob Meyer

Wisconsin Education Policy Expert Talks Race to the Top

Sarah Archibald, an education advisor to state Sen. Luther Olson and an architect of Wisconsin’s first Race to the Top proposal, was invited to speak to VARC Director Rob Meyer's Education Policy and Reform class at the LaFollette School of Public Affairs.
READ MORE

April
2013
David Steele

Q&A with Hillsborough County School District Leader Dr. David Steele

Dr. David Steele is Chief Information and Technology Office at Florida’s Hillsborough County School District, which includes the Tampa metro area and serves 197,000 students and 15,000 instructional staff. VARC has assisted Hillsborough County with value-added calculations. READ MORE

MARCH
2013
Brad Carl

UW-Madison research group to offer introduction to education measurement system: Value-Added Research Center presentation

UW-Madison’s Value-Added Research Center (VARC) will offer an introductory session on value-added for educators, school board members, and others with an interest in educational accountability issues at the Waunakee Community High School Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 9. READ MORE

JAN
2013
Sean McLaughlin

Upping value-added knowledge in northeast Wisconsin

On December 12, the Value-Added Research Center (VARC), where McLaughlin works as a production manager, sent him to Green Bay to host a morning seminar at the Cooperative Education Service Agency (CESA) #7, an association of school districts stretching from Sheboygan to Door County. His objective: explain how value-added research, which combines data taken from test scores with student demographics, can provide administrators insight into what teaching is working well in schools—and what lessons might be improved. READ MORE