An evaluation of the appropriateness of a value-added assessment feedback tool for making interpretations of the progress in maths of primary school children

Recently there has been a growing concern of using value-added assessment information to evaluate the progress made by learners in various Asian Pacific regions e.g. Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. Performance Indicators for Primary School project (PIPS) aims at evaluating the performance of primary schoolchildren in the United Kingdom through two types of value-added estimations, namely concurrent value-added and prior value-added estimations. Descriptions in a value-added grid have been introduced (PIPS, 1999) to facilitate making interpretations of the estimations, but the validity of the descriptions has not been examined formally so far. The paper aims at producing two types of value-added estimations through a school-based analysis of performance of 70 primary school children in two Maths tests and in a test of developed abilities. This is followed by an evaluation of descriptions in the value-added grid, which are used to make interpretations of the estimations. The results of evaluation indicate that the descriptions are generally applicable for making interpretations of the progress made in Maths by the schoolchildren. The limitations of interpretations, the attentions required for assessment feedback provision, the implications for learning and instruction, and the implications for teacher professional development are also discussed in the paper.