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William L. Sanders, Ph.D.

Manager of Value-Added Assessment and Research

William Sanders is a nationally recognized statistician and educational researcher known primarily for his work in the analysis of student achievement data utilizing copyrighted EVASS methodology. He is frequently called upon to provide consultation and collaboration for researchers investigating student achievement outcomes using value-added assessment.

Currently, Dr. Sanders is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of North Carolina and the Manger of Value-Added Assessment and Research, SAS Institute Inc. Previously, he taught at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he was also Director of the Value-Added Research and Assessment Center.

Earlier in his career, he served as Director of the University of Tennessee Statistical and Computing Services Unit and as a biometrician at UT-AEC Comparative Animal Research Laboratory.

Value-Added Seeks a Higher Individual Standard

Dr. William Sanders, Manager of Value-Added Assessment and Research, SAS Institute, Inc., was the morning's second speaker. A statistician who has analyzed data over 30 years, Dr. Sanders stated that the value-added assessment process is quite different from NCLB. Value-added assessment involves following the same student throughout the grades. There are three conditions that need to be met for this procedure to make sense: The tests used must 1) be highly correlated with curricular objectives, 2) ensure sufficient stretch to measure different student abilities and 3) include multi-discipline input on individual students. Value -Added Assessment allows every student to serve as his own control. It allows progress to be tracked over time. A flat spot in academic growth at any level has implications because it can show variability, not only of students, but variability among schools and among individual classrooms. The residual effect of good or bad teaching can be plotted over time. It appears that the biggest factor affecting academic progress of children is classroom instruction; not race, ethnicity or ability of the student. The measure of teacher effectiveness gets more important as higher grade levels are introduced. NCLB raises the academic standard for all kids, while the value-added approach is going beyond that and attempting to reach an even higher standard for individuals.