Audrey Amrein-Beardsley
Biographic Data
| ID | 1212829 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Audrey Amrein-Beardsley |
| GIVEN NAMES | Audrey |
| FAMILY NAME | Amrein-Beardsley |
| SIGNATURE | AMREIN-BEARDSLEY A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Arizona State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6924-3025 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 30 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Validity First
Debates over teacher evaluation and teacher effectiveness have largely focused on methodological refinement, particularly the technical adequacy of value-added models (VAMs). Far less attention has been paid to the validity of the evidentiary foundations on which these systems rest. In this theoretical synthesis of validity theory related to use, interpretation, and consequences, we argue that validity must be treated not as a technical property …
Continuing the conversation
Throughout his journey from applied researcher to world-renowned scholar, David Berliner was committed to education research that matters—not just within academic circles, but within classrooms and communities. As a public intellectual and a fierce advocate for public education, David expertly and courageously engaged in education debates, bridged research with practice, debunked myths and exposed misinformation, and in the process, reshaped how …
A validation review of the SAT and ACT for college and university admissions decisions
In response to a call for research on using the SATs and ACTs for U.S.-based college and university admissions, researchers systematically interrogated the literature surrounding both tests, using a framework for validity evidence built upon the Standards of Educational and Psychological Testing and Kane’s contemporary view of validity. Authors of the 72 peer-reviewed articles selected for this review provided mixed validity evidence. Results ind…
Surviving observation island
Catherine M. Gross, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Courtney Stone, and Grace L. Beall examine teacher observation systems through the lens of the reality show “ Survivor ,” outlining how high-stakes evaluations can mirror the competitive, subjective, and sometimes unfair nature of the show. Drawing on a systematic review of three major U.S. models — Danielson, Marzano, and TAP — they analyze the systems’ reliability, validity, fairness, and potential b…
A survey research study of music education faculty
This study examined demographic information for current music education faculty ( N = 136), the factors that seem to influence music education faculty members’ levels of job satisfaction and primary stressors, also by institution type. Simultaneous multiple regression revealed that academic autonomy, collegial support, sleep, parental responsibilities, and certainties of the tenure process affect music education faculty members’ reported levels o…
Evaluating the validity evidence surrounding use of value-added models to evaluate teachers
Local education agencies (LEAs) continue to use value-added models (VAMs) for teacher evaluation policies and purposes, often with consequences attached. Although the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides more flexibility to LEAs, few have discontinued VAM use, suggesting they interpret VAMs as a valid measure of teacher effectiveness. In this systematic review, we used a framework built on the Standards of Educational and Psychological Test…
Establishing class size policies for optimal course outcomes in online undergraduate education programs
The long-term shift toward online learning over the past two decades was greatly accelerated by COVID-19, heightening the urgency in higher education for policies meant to better optimize online environments for student learning. The determination of class sizes for online courses is one such policy. In this hierarchical linear regression of undergraduate students’ grades in online courses (n = 6,615), we found a significant but negligible positi…
Teaching program evaluation
The breakfast of champions
Feedback is an essential ingredient for professional growth, but teachers receive limited feedback that is actually useful. Audrey Amrein-Beardsley and Tray Geiger discuss the flaws in two common forms of teacher feedback, value-added measures and classroom observations, often used as part of a summative evaluation. They suggest that student evaluations can add important data to help teachers improve, especially if used formatively and not to inf…
What Should the Future of Educational Accountability Look Like?”
Using Standardized Tests for Educational Accountability
Putting teacher evaluation systems on the map
The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) loosened the federal policy grip over states’ teacher accountability systems. We present information, collected via surveys sent to state department of education personnel, about all states’ teacher evaluation systems post–ESSA, while also highlighting differences before and after ESSA. We found that states have decreased their use of growth or value-added models (VAMs) within their teacher evaluation system…
Policies and practices of promise in teacher evaluation
This introduction to the special issue on “Policies and Practices of Promise in Teacher Evaluation,” (1) presents the background and policy context surrounding the ongoing changes in U.S. states’ teacher evaluation systems (e.g., the decreased use of value-added models (VAM)s for teacher accountability purposes); (2) summarizes the two commentaries and seven research papers that were peer-reviewed and ultimately selected for inclusion in this spe…
Value-Added Model (VAM) Scholars on Using VAMs for Teacher Evaluation After the Passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act
Background/Context The Race to the Top federal initiatives and requirements surrounding waivers of No Child Left Behind promoted expanded use of value-added models (VAMs) to evaluate teachers. Even after passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) relaxed these requirements, allowing more flexibility and local control, many states and districts continue to use VAMs in teacher evaluation systems, suggesting that they consider VAMs a valid mea…
Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System (Evaas)
The Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS), the value-added model (VAM) sold by the international business analytics software company SAS Institute Inc., is advertised as offering “precise, reliable and unbiased results that go far beyond what other simplistic [value-added] models found in the market today can provide.” In this study, we investigated these claims, as well as others pertaining to the validity or truthfulness of model outp…
Houston, We Have a Lawsuit”
Until recently, legal challenges to the use of value-added models (VAMs) in evaluation and teacher employment decisions in federal court had been unsuccessful. However, in May 2017 a federal court in Texas ruled that plaintiff-teachers established a viable federal constitutional claim to challenge the use of VAMs as a means for their termination in Houston Federation of Teachers v. Houston Independent School District . Houston represents a signif…
Preparing Teachers for Educational Renewal Within Current Contexts of Accountability
Given changes to the ways teachers and, by association, the universities that prepare them are held accountable, the critical work of John Goodlad in educational renewal through teacher education has restored at least some capacity to reframe conversations about ways to better prepare teachers to serve diverse students in America's schools. In this article, we examine how Goodlad's vision, reified through his Twenty Postulates (a) might have help…
The Random Assignment of Students Into Elementary Classrooms
Value-added models (VAMs) are used to measure changes in student achievement on large-scaled standardized test scores from year to year. When aggregated, VAM estimates are used to measure teacher effectiveness and hold teachers accountable for the value they purportedly add to or detract from student learning and achievement. In this study, researchers examined the extent to which purposeful (nonrandom) and random assignment of students into clas…
The Unintended, Pernicious Consequences of "Staying the Course" on the United States' No Child Left Behind Policy
The phrase “no child left behind” has become a familiar expression in American education circles and in popular culture. The sentiment implied by these four words is noble. However, the effects of the top-down implementation of the high-stakes testing provisions of the law have been anything but salutary for public school children, teachers, and administrators. This claim is supported by data describing many of the ways in which well-intentioned …
Post-Implementation Insights about a Hybrid Degree Program
Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System
Value-added models help to evaluate the knowledge that school districts, schools, and teachers add to student learning as students progress through school. In this article, the well-known Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) is examined. The author presents a practical investigation of the methodological issues associated with the model. Specifically, she argues that, although EVAAS is probably the most sophisticated value-added model,…
Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System
Value-added models help to evaluate the knowledge that school districts, schools, and teachers add to student learning as students progress through school. In this article, the well-known Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) is examined. The author presents a practical investigation of the methodological issues associated with the model. Specifically, she argues that, although EVAAS is probably the most sophisticated value-added model,…
The Unintended, Pernicious Consequences of "Staying the Course" on the United States' No Child Left Behind Policy
The phrase “no child left behind” has become a familiar expression in American education circles and in popular culture. The sentiment implied by these four words is noble. However, the effects of the top-down implementation of the high-stakes testing provisions of the law have been anything but salutary for public school children, teachers, and administrators. This claim is supported by data describing many of the ways in which well-intentioned …
Houston, We Have a Lawsuit”
Until recently, legal challenges to the use of value-added models (VAMs) in evaluation and teacher employment decisions in federal court had been unsuccessful. However, in May 2017 a federal court in Texas ruled that plaintiff-teachers established a viable federal constitutional claim to challenge the use of VAMs as a means for their termination in Houston Federation of Teachers v. Houston Independent School District . Houston represents a signif…
Preparing Teachers for Educational Renewal Within Current Contexts of Accountability
Given changes to the ways teachers and, by association, the universities that prepare them are held accountable, the critical work of John Goodlad in educational renewal through teacher education has restored at least some capacity to reframe conversations about ways to better prepare teachers to serve diverse students in America's schools. In this article, we examine how Goodlad's vision, reified through his Twenty Postulates (a) might have help…
The Random Assignment of Students Into Elementary Classrooms
Value-added models (VAMs) are used to measure changes in student achievement on large-scaled standardized test scores from year to year. When aggregated, VAM estimates are used to measure teacher effectiveness and hold teachers accountable for the value they purportedly add to or detract from student learning and achievement. In this study, researchers examined the extent to which purposeful (nonrandom) and random assignment of students into clas…
Post-Implementation Insights about a Hybrid Degree Program
Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System
Value-added models help to evaluate the knowledge that school districts, schools, and teachers add to student learning as students progress through school. In this article, the well-known Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) is examined. The author presents a practical investigation of the methodological issues associated with the model. Specifically, she argues that, although EVAAS is probably the most sophisticated value-added model,…
The Unintended, Pernicious Consequences of "Staying the Course" on the United States' No Child Left Behind Policy
The phrase “no child left behind” has become a familiar expression in American education circles and in popular culture. The sentiment implied by these four words is noble. However, the effects of the top-down implementation of the high-stakes testing provisions of the law have been anything but salutary for public school children, teachers, and administrators. This claim is supported by data describing many of the ways in which well-intentioned …
The Random Assignment of Students Into Elementary Classrooms
Value-added models (VAMs) are used to measure changes in student achievement on large-scaled standardized test scores from year to year. When aggregated, VAM estimates are used to measure teacher effectiveness and hold teachers accountable for the value they purportedly add to or detract from student learning and achievement. In this study, researchers examined the extent to which purposeful (nonrandom) and random assignment of students into clas…
Preparing Teachers for Educational Renewal Within Current Contexts of Accountability
Given changes to the ways teachers and, by association, the universities that prepare them are held accountable, the critical work of John Goodlad in educational renewal through teacher education has restored at least some capacity to reframe conversations about ways to better prepare teachers to serve diverse students in America's schools. In this article, we examine how Goodlad's vision, reified through his Twenty Postulates (a) might have help…
Putting teacher evaluation systems on the map
The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) loosened the federal policy grip over states’ teacher accountability systems. We present information, collected via surveys sent to state department of education personnel, about all states’ teacher evaluation systems post–ESSA, while also highlighting differences before and after ESSA. We found that states have decreased their use of growth or value-added models (VAMs) within their teacher evaluation system…
Policies and practices of promise in teacher evaluation
This introduction to the special issue on “Policies and Practices of Promise in Teacher Evaluation,” (1) presents the background and policy context surrounding the ongoing changes in U.S. states’ teacher evaluation systems (e.g., the decreased use of value-added models (VAM)s for teacher accountability purposes); (2) summarizes the two commentaries and seven research papers that were peer-reviewed and ultimately selected for inclusion in this spe…
Value-Added Model (VAM) Scholars on Using VAMs for Teacher Evaluation After the Passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act
Background/Context The Race to the Top federal initiatives and requirements surrounding waivers of No Child Left Behind promoted expanded use of value-added models (VAMs) to evaluate teachers. Even after passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) relaxed these requirements, allowing more flexibility and local control, many states and districts continue to use VAMs in teacher evaluation systems, suggesting that they consider VAMs a valid mea…
Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System (Evaas)
The Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS), the value-added model (VAM) sold by the international business analytics software company SAS Institute Inc., is advertised as offering “precise, reliable and unbiased results that go far beyond what other simplistic [value-added] models found in the market today can provide.” In this study, we investigated these claims, as well as others pertaining to the validity or truthfulness of model outp…
Houston, We Have a Lawsuit”
Until recently, legal challenges to the use of value-added models (VAMs) in evaluation and teacher employment decisions in federal court had been unsuccessful. However, in May 2017 a federal court in Texas ruled that plaintiff-teachers established a viable federal constitutional claim to challenge the use of VAMs as a means for their termination in Houston Federation of Teachers v. Houston Independent School District . Houston represents a signif…
Teaching program evaluation
The breakfast of champions
Feedback is an essential ingredient for professional growth, but teachers receive limited feedback that is actually useful. Audrey Amrein-Beardsley and Tray Geiger discuss the flaws in two common forms of teacher feedback, value-added measures and classroom observations, often used as part of a summative evaluation. They suggest that student evaluations can add important data to help teachers improve, especially if used formatively and not to inf…
What Should the Future of Educational Accountability Look Like?”
Using Standardized Tests for Educational Accountability
Evaluating the validity evidence surrounding use of value-added models to evaluate teachers
Local education agencies (LEAs) continue to use value-added models (VAMs) for teacher evaluation policies and purposes, often with consequences attached. Although the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides more flexibility to LEAs, few have discontinued VAM use, suggesting they interpret VAMs as a valid measure of teacher effectiveness. In this systematic review, we used a framework built on the Standards of Educational and Psychological Test…
Establishing class size policies for optimal course outcomes in online undergraduate education programs
The long-term shift toward online learning over the past two decades was greatly accelerated by COVID-19, heightening the urgency in higher education for policies meant to better optimize online environments for student learning. The determination of class sizes for online courses is one such policy. In this hierarchical linear regression of undergraduate students’ grades in online courses (n = 6,615), we found a significant but negligible positi…
A survey research study of music education faculty
This study examined demographic information for current music education faculty ( N = 136), the factors that seem to influence music education faculty members’ levels of job satisfaction and primary stressors, also by institution type. Simultaneous multiple regression revealed that academic autonomy, collegial support, sleep, parental responsibilities, and certainties of the tenure process affect music education faculty members’ reported levels o…
A validation review of the SAT and ACT for college and university admissions decisions
In response to a call for research on using the SATs and ACTs for U.S.-based college and university admissions, researchers systematically interrogated the literature surrounding both tests, using a framework for validity evidence built upon the Standards of Educational and Psychological Testing and Kane’s contemporary view of validity. Authors of the 72 peer-reviewed articles selected for this review provided mixed validity evidence. Results ind…
Surviving observation island
Catherine M. Gross, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Courtney Stone, and Grace L. Beall examine teacher observation systems through the lens of the reality show “ Survivor ,” outlining how high-stakes evaluations can mirror the competitive, subjective, and sometimes unfair nature of the show. Drawing on a systematic review of three major U.S. models — Danielson, Marzano, and TAP — they analyze the systems’ reliability, validity, fairness, and potential b…
Validity First
Debates over teacher evaluation and teacher effectiveness have largely focused on methodological refinement, particularly the technical adequacy of value-added models (VAMs). Far less attention has been paid to the validity of the evidentiary foundations on which these systems rest. In this theoretical synthesis of validity theory related to use, interpretation, and consequences, we argue that validity must be treated not as a technical property …
Continuing the conversation
Throughout his journey from applied researcher to world-renowned scholar, David Berliner was committed to education research that matters—not just within academic circles, but within classrooms and communities. As a public intellectual and a fierce advocate for public education, David expertly and courageously engaged in education debates, bridged research with practice, debunked myths and exposed misinformation, and in the process, reshaped how …
Psychology (14 works) · Educational Assessment and Improvement (13 works) · Computer Science (12 works) · School Choice and Performance (11 works) · Political science (10 works) · Mathematics education (9 works) · Pedagogy (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies (7 works) · Accountability (6 works)