Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement

Abstract

This paper disentangles the impact of schools and teachers in influencing achievement with special attention given to the potential problems of omitted or mismeasured variables and of student and school selection. Unique matched panel data from the UTD Texas Schools Project permit the identification of teacher quality based on student performance along with the impact of specific, measured components of teachers and schools. Semiparametric lower bound estimates of the variance in teacher quality based entirely on within-school heterogeneity indicate that teachers have powerful effects on reading and mathematics achievement, though little of the variation in teacher quality is explained by observable characteristics such as education or experience. The results suggest that the effects of a costly ten student reduction in class size are smaller than the benefit of moving one standard deviation up the teacher quality distribution, highlighting the importance of teacher effectiveness in the determination of school quality. Copyright The Econometric Society 2005.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs That Provide Education to Incarcerated Adults

“…Assuming that a standard deviation in the outcome is about 1.5 grade-level equivalents (based on estimates from Meyer, Ory, and Hinckley, 1983), this represents about a fifth of a standard deviation. To put the finding in context, this effect size estimate is roughly twice what many studies find to be the difference in effect between a high-performing and an underperforming teacher (e.g., Aaronson et al, 2007;Kane and Staiger, 2005;Rivkin et al, 2005;Rockoff, 2004). 5 The estimate is based on only three studies.…”

The role of relational resilience in teachers’ career-long commitment and effectiveness

“…Research on teacher effectiveness consistently reports that teachers' classroom practices have the largest effects on student learning and achievement (Rockoff 2004;Hallinger, 2005;Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain 2005;Leithwood et al, 2006). The positive effects of high quality teaching are especially significant for pupils from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.…”

Estabilidade Dos Professores E Qualidade Do Ensino De Escolas Públicas

“…Concluem que a maioria das pessoas percebe os efeitos potenciais das políticas por meio do impacto aferido pela qualidade dos professores, embora pouco se conheça sobre a potencial interação entre as estruturas institucionais e a qualidade dos professores. Rivkin et al (2005) investigam como o salário e a condições de trabalho afetam a qualidade do ensino em escolas públicas dos Estados Unidos, buscando contornar o problema de endogeneidade devido a variáveis omitidas, erro de medida das variáveis e viés de seleção dos estudantes e escolas. O estudo conclui que aumentos salariais para professores seriam, em geral, ineficazes, mas, melhorias na qualidade do ensino poderiam ser alcançadas por meio da implementação de algumas medidas, tais como: 1) reduzir as barreiras para um profissional se tornar um professor, como por exemplo, a exigência de certificação; 2) haver uma relação direta entre salários e progressão na carreira; 3) possibilidade de compensar os professores com maior capacidade em aumentar o desempenho dos estudantes.…”