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Testing the validity of value-added measures of educational progress with genetic data
Tim T Morris1, Neil M Davies1, Danny Dorling2
1University of Bristol UK.
British Educational Research Journal
|April 16, 2019
Summary
Genetic differences in pupils explain little of raw educational value-added measures but significantly impact contextual and teacher-rated measures. This suggests value-added metrics may offer a biased view of school performance.
Area of Science:
- Educational research
- Behavioral genetics
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Value-added measures (VAMs) are widely used to evaluate educational performance.
- VAMs aim to isolate school and teacher effects by controlling for pupil differences.
- Concerns exist regarding the accuracy and fairness of VAMs in reflecting true educational impact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extent to which genetic differences between pupils influence VAMs.
- To assess the validity of raw, contextual, and teacher-reported VAMs using genetic data.
- To determine if VAMs provide unbiased estimates of school and teacher performance.
Main Methods:
- Utilized genetic data from a UK birth cohort study.
- Analyzed raw value-added, contextual value-added, and teacher-reported value-added measures.
- Employed statistical methods to quantify the proportion of variance explained by genetic differences.
Main Results:
- Genetic differences explained little variation in raw value-added measures.
- Genetic differences accounted for up to 20% of variation in contextual value-added measures.
- Teacher-reported value-added measures showed higher genetic influence (36.3%), with raw test scores showing the most (≥47.3%).
Conclusions:
- Value-added measures can be influenced by genetic differences, potentially biasing assessments of school and teacher performance.
- The findings question the effectiveness of current VAMs in providing unbiased evaluations.
- Researchers should consider genetic factors when interpreting educational progress measures.
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