Achieving Standards and Personalization

A spot on the map that resonated with me was, "Achieving Standards and Personalization." Are our standards the correct standards? Are we measuring the right student performances? Particularly, I want to address the Value Added Assesment Standard. What is confusing to me is as we at Anderson County High have raised our scores on Gateways and End of Course tests, the Value Added assesments are lower or stay the same. What is Value Added?
During the early 80's William Sander's research led to the developement of Tennessee Value Added Assesment. The system is known as TVAAS, a statistical method of determining the effectiveness of school systems. When Gov. McWherter signed the Educational Improvement Act in 1992, the TVASS was adopted as the basis for the states' new educational accountablity system. What is the formula?
There seems to be variables with the TVAAS that cannot be measured perfectly, and according to Dr. Anne Lockwood, the senior program advisor for NWREL's Center for Classroom Teaching and Learning, "Everyway of measuring Value Added carries some assumptions. The assumptions won't be exactly right." What are these assumptions?
When we invited the Department of Education to come to speak to our school about Value Added, no one could give us a formula to follow to improve Value Added. We were told the formula was "copyrighted." When our neighboring High School's principal asked what strategies could be used to increase Value Added, there were none offered. I am always bewildered when our school has positive Gateway and End Of Course test scores yet rate lower on Value Added. It seems that when scores are already high, it is much harder to have high Value Added scores. Is this secret formula secret because of its dependency on assumptions about student's predicted successes?
It would take a book to write about what we as teachers do not know about Value Added Assessment. I would love to know more about the formula and how it is used. It would also be beneficial to have a clear answer to our questions about strategies to raise Value Added scores.