News & Publications
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
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
VARC's Brad Carl Comments on School Accountability Legislation 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
Brookings 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
VARC'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
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
CPRE, 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
Annalee 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
VARC 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
Kang 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
VARC 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
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
VARC'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
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
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
VARC’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
Common 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
Activity 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
Q&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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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