Mark Paige takes an in-depth look at the interaction of Value Added Models (VAMs) and the law of teacher evaluation. It notes that the hasty adoption of VAMs in evaluation and employment law actually complicates efforts to improve teacher quality, especially at the local level. In brief, VAMs’ costs vastly outweigh their benefits. The book advocates for a complete removal of VAMs in high-stakes decisions. It sets forth numerous recommendations for administrators and policymakers to enable them to effectively deal with the complications created by VAMs.

"Mark Paige’s Building a Better Teacher is an excellent resource for practitioners, policymakers, and scholars who seek to understand how legal mechanisms like the courts and collective bargaining impact the application of VAM in policy and practice. It is well written, logically constructed, and complete without being overwhelming. The law is reviewed, but a law degree is not necessary to understand the discussion. Chapters 1-7 provide a very useful Key Points section summarizing each chapter. The book is well resourced (326 footnotes) for those readers who wish to delve deeper into VAMs, teacher evaluation, and the law. One of the strengths of the book is its exploration of the limits of the courts in effectuating a just and fair response to policies using VAM in high stakes, adverse personnel decisions. . . .This is a volume that deserves a place on scholars’, practitioners’, and policy makers’ bookshelf. It raises important issues that can inform the important discussions about what processes and data best support high stakes employment decisions." - Education Law Reporter