Audrey Beardsley

*Selected Publications (see CV for full list)

• Herrick, I. R., Amrein-Beardsley, A., & Nichols, S. L. (2026). A political spectacle: A policy analysis of states' responses to federal testing waivers during the coronavirus (COVID) pandemic. AERA Open. 
• Amrein-Beardsley, A., Azizova, Z., *Gibbs, N. P., Ikegwuonu, C., Kim, J., *La Torre, D. M., Lavery, M. R., Pivovarova, M., & Zheng, Y. (2025). A validation review of the SAT and ACT for college and university admissions decisions. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 33. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8734
• Pivovarova, M., Geiger, T., & Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2024). What’s in a school grade? Examining how school demographics predict school letter grades. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 29(12). https://openpublishing.library.umass.edu/pare/article/id/2039/
• Pivovarova, M., & Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2024). Not all percentiles are equal: Examining non-linear relationships between two, popular teacher evaluation measures. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-024-09433-w 
• Amrein-Beardsley, A., Lavery, M. R., Holloway, J., Pivovarova, M., & Hahs-Vaughn, D. L. (2023). Evaluating the validity evidence surrounding the use of value-added models to evaluate teachers: A systematic review. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 31. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.31.8201 
• Gibbs, N. P., Sloat, E. F., Amrein-Beardsley, A., *Cha, D., *Mulerwa, O., & *Beck, M. F. (2023). Establishing class size policies for optimal course outcomes in online undergraduate education programs. Studies in Higher Education, 48(2), 1841–1855. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2216725 
• Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2023). A Florida teacher wrongfully terminated? Alleged (mis)uses of value-added model (VAM) data for high-stakes teacher evaluation decisions. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-023-09411-8
• Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2022). Using standardized tests for educational accountability: The bad idea that keeps on giving nothing in return. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM), 41(4), 1226-1232. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22426
• Amrein-Beardsley, A., *Geiger, T. J., & *Winn, K. (2022). States’ performance on NAEP mathematics and reading exams after the implementation of school letter grade accountability policies. Cogent Education, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2063223
• Fischman, G. E., Amrein-Beardsley, A., & McBride-Schreiner, S. (2022). Education research is still the hardest science: A proposal for improving its trustworthiness and usability. F1000Research, 11(230). https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109700.1
• *Gong, B., Collins, C., & Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2022). An international professional development collaboration: Supporting teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through an immersion program in the United States. Gulf Education and Social Policy Review, 2(2), 115-143. https://doi.org/10.18502/gespr.v2i1.10045
• Lavery, M. R., Amrein-Beardsley, A., *Geiger, T., & Pivovarova, M. (2020). Value-added model (VAM) scholars on using VAMs for teacher evaluation, after the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Teachers College Record, 122(8). https://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?contentid=23320
• *Geiger, T. J., & Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2020). Student perception surveys for K-12 teacher evaluation in the United States: A survey of surveys. Cogent Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2019.1602943
• *Geiger, T. J., Amrein-Beardsley, A., & Holloway, J. (2020). Using test scores to evaluate and hold school teachers accountable in New Mexico. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 32(2), 187-235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-020-09324-w
• Paige, M. A., & Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2020). “Houston, we have a lawsuit:” A cautionary tale for the implementation of value-added models (VAMs) for high-stakes employment decisions. Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20923046
• Amrein-Beardsley, A., & *Geiger, T. J. (2020). Methodological concerns about the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS): Validity, reliability, and bias. SAGE Open, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020922224
• *Close, K., Amrein-Beardsley, A., & Collins, C. (2020). Putting teacher evaluation systems on the map: An overview of states’ teacher evaluation systems post-Every Student Succeeds Act. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28(1), 1-58. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.5252 
• Amrein-Beardsley, A., Sloat, E., & Holloway, J. (2020). All value-added models (VAMs) are wrong, but sometimes they may be useful. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 17(1), 31-39. https://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/JSPspring2020.FINAL.v1.pdf
• Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2019). The Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) on trial: A precedent-setting lawsuit with implications for policy and practice. eJournal of Education Policy. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1234497.pdf
• Amrein-Beardsley, A., & *Geiger, T. J. (2019). Potential sources of invalidity when using teacher value-added and principal observational estimates: Artificial inflation, deflation, and conflation. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 31(4), 465-493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-019-09311-w
• Amrein-Beardsley, A., & *Close, K. (2019). Teacher-level value-added models (VAMs) on trial: Empirical and pragmatic issues of concern across five court cases. Educational Policy 35(6), 1-42 https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904819843593
• Paige, M. A., Amrein-Beardsley, A., & *Close, K. (2019). Tennessee’s national impact on teacher evaluation law & policy: An assessment of value-added model litigation [Law Review]. Tennessee Journal of Law & Policy, 13(2), 523-574.
• Kwon, J. Y., Kulinna, P. H, van der Mars, H, Amrein-Beardsley, A., & Koro-Ljungberg, M. (2019). Comprehensive school physical activity programs preparation in physical education teacher education programs. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 38(3), 271-276. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2018-0110
• Amrein-Beardsley, A., & Collins, C. (2018). Using the Texas Value-Added Assessment System (TxVAAS) to improve teacher effectiveness: Investigating the research-situated “truths” behind TxVAAS claims. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 8(1), 146-178. https://doi.org/10.5590/JERAP.2018.08.1.12
• Sloat, E., Amrein-Beardsley, A., & Sabo, K. E. (2018). The TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement: A (questionable) system of teacher accountability and professional support. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 15(3), 4-11.
• Sloat, E., Amrein-Beardsley, A., Holloway, J. (2018). Different teacher-level effectiveness estimates, different results: Inter-model concordance across six generalized value-added models (VAMs). Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 30(4), 367-397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-018-9283-7
• Paufler, N. A., & Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2018). Classics and contemporaries: The "Top Ten" books recommended by some of the finest in the education academy. Critical Questions in Education, 100-116. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1191118.pdf
• Kwon, J. Y., Kulinna, P. H., van der Mars, H., Koro-Ljungberg, M., Amrein-Beardsley, A., & Norris, J. (2018). Physical education pre-service teachers’ perceptions about preparation for Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 89(2), 221-234. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2018.1443196
• Pivovarova, M., & Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2018). Median growth percentiles (MGPs): Assessment of intertemporal stability and correlations with observational scores. Educational Assessment, 2, 139-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2018.1449634