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Does Teacher Testing Raise Teacher Quality? Evidence from State Certification Requirements

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Author Info
Angrist, Joshua D. () (MIT, NBER and IZA Bonn)
Guryan, Jonathan (University of Chicago and NBER)

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Abstract

The education reform movement includes efforts to raise teacher quality through stricter certification and licensing provisions. Most US states now require public school teachers to pass a standardized test such as the Praxis. Although any barrier to entry is likely to raise wages in the affected occupation, the theoretical effects of such requirements on teacher quality are ambiguous. Teacher testing places a floor on whatever skills are measured by the required test, but testing is also costly for applicants. These costs shift teacher supply to the left and may be especially likely to deter high-quality applicants from teaching in public schools. Moreover, test requirements may disqualify some applicants that schools would otherwise want to hire. We use the Schools and Staffing Survey to estimate the effect of state teacher testing requirements on teacher wages and teacher quality as measured by educational background. The results suggest that state-mandated teacher testing increases teacher wages with no corresponding increase in quality.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1500.

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Length: 36 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1500

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Related research
Keywords: occupational licensure; education reform; worker screening;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  6. David N. Figlio, 2002. "Can public schools buy better-qualified teachers?," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 55(4), pages 686-699, July.
  7. Joshua D. Angrist & Jonathan Guryan, 2004. "Teacher Testing, Teacher Education, and Teacher Characteristics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 241-246, May. [Downloadable!]
  8. Ballou, Dale, 1996. "Do Public Schools Hire the Best Applicants?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 111(1), pages 97-133, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Joshua D. Angrist & Jonathan Guryan, 2004. "Teacher Testing, Teacher Education, and Teacher Characteristics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 241-246, May. [Downloadable!]
  2. Hendrik Jürges & Wolfram Richter & Kerstin Schneider, 2004. "Teacher Quality and Incentives: Theoretical and Empirical Effects of Standards on Teacher Quality," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. V. Joseph Hotz & Mo Xiao, 2005. "The Impact of Minimum Quality Standards on Firm Entry, Exit and Product Quality: the Case of the Child Care Market," NBER Working Papers 11873, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Kugler, Adriana D. & Sauer, Robert M, 2003. "Doctors without Borders: The Returns to an Occupational License for Soviet Immigrant Physicians in Israel," CEPR Discussion Papers 3683, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Eduardo de Carvalho Andrade & Luciano I. de Castro, 2008. "Tougher Educational Exam Leading to Worse Selection," Discussion Papers 1469, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science. [Downloadable!]
  6. Kugler, Adriana D. & Sauer, Robert M., 2002. "Doctors Without Borders: The Returns to an Occupational License for Soviet Immigrant Physicians in Israel," IZA Discussion Papers 634, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  7. Richard Buddin & Gena Zamarro, 2008. "Teacher Quality, Teacher Licensure Tests, and Student Achievement," Working Papers 555, RAND Corporation Publications Department. [Downloadable!]
  8. V. Joseph Hotz & Mo Xiao, 2005. "The Impact of Minimum Quality Standards on Firm Entry, Exit and Product Quality: The Case of the Child Care Market," Working Papers 05-28, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
  9. Cory Koedel & Julian Betts, 2007. "Re-Examining the Role of Teacher Quality In the Educational Production Function," Working Papers 0708, Department of Economics, University of Missouri. [Downloadable!]
  10. Kaoru Nabeshima, 2003. "Raising the quality of secondary education in East Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3140, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  11. Arnaud Chevalier & Peter Dolton, 2004. "The Labour Market for Teachers," Working Papers 200411, School Of Economics, University College Dublin. [Downloadable!]
  12. Janet Currie & Matthew Neidell, 2003. "Getting Inside the "Black Box" of Head Start Quality: What Matters and What Doesn't?," NBER Working Papers 10091, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Marc van der Steeg, 2005. "Why should governments intervene in education, and how effective is education policy," CPB Memoranda 122, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. [Downloadable!]
  14. Yi-Chun Chen & Siyang Xiong, 2008. "Topologies on Types: Connections," Discussion Papers 1470, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science. [Downloadable!]
  15. Adriana Kugler & Robert Sauer, 2002. "Doctors without Borders: The Returns to an Occupational License for Soviet Immigrant Physicians in Israel," Economics Working Papers 648, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. [Downloadable!]
  16. Maresa, SPRIETSMA & Fabio, WALTENBERG, 2005. "The impact of teachersÕ wages on studentsÕ performance in the presence of heterogeneity and endogeneity. Evidence from Brazil," Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) 2005008, Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques. [Downloadable!]
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