Teacher effectiveness and computer assessment of reading: Relating value added and learning information system data

The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) has for several years used the largest longitudinally merged database of student achievement data in the USA. to generate estimates of school system, school, and teacher effects on indicators of student learning in a number of subjects, including reading comprehension. A Learning Information System (LIS) (not to be confused with an Integrated Learning System) is a formative, curriculum based, criterion referenced assessment delivered and scored by computer, which provides detailed feedback in different forms for different stakeholders. The Accelerated Reader (AR) LIS for reading comprehension of real ("trade") books captures the data for each student on the length and difficulty of each book, and the student's percent correct response on the assessment. It aims to help teachers promote and manage effective reading practice. AR data on 62,739 students from grades 2 to 8 in Tennessee schools was merged with the TVAAS teacher effects database, and relationships between these independently obtained measures explored. This illuminated some factors in teacher management of the quality and quantity of student reading practice which could be causative in improving reading comprehension, and the impact of implementation integrity of the LIS.