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What Does Certification Tell Us About Teacher Effectiveness? Evidence from New York City

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Author Info
Thomas J. Kane
Jonah E. Rockoff
Douglas O. Staiger
Abstract

We use six years of data on student test performance to evaluate the effectiveness of certified, uncertified, and alternatively certified teachers in the New York City public schools. On average, the certification status of a teacher has at most small impacts on student test performance. However, among those with the same certification status, there are large and persistent differences in teacher effectiveness. This evidence suggests that classroom performance during the first two years, rather than certification status, is a more reliable indicator of a teacher's future effectiveness. We also evaluate turnover among teachers with different certification status, and the impact on student achievement of hiring teachers with predictably high turnover. Given relatively modest estimates of experience differentials, even high turnover groups (such as Teach for America participants) would have to be only slightly more effective in their first year to offset the negative effects of their high exit rates.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 12155.

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Date of creation: Apr 2006
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12155

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I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General

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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. Summers, Anita A & Wolfe, Barbara L, 1977. "Do Schools Make a Difference?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(4), pages 639-52, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Ehrenberg, Ronald G. & Brewer, Dominic J., 1994. "Do school and teacher characteristics matter? Evidence from High School and Beyond," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Hanushek, Eric, 1971. "Teacher Characteristics and Gains in Student Achievement: Estimation Using Micro Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(2), pages 280-88, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Jnah E. Rockoff, 2004. "The Impact of Individual Teachers on Student Achievement: Evidence from Panel Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 247-252, May. [Downloadable!]
  5. David N. Figlio & Joshua Winicki, 2002. "Food for Thought: The Effects of School Accountability Plans on School Nutrition," NBER Working Papers 9319, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. David N. Figlio, 2005. "Testing, Crime and Punishment," NBER Working Papers 11194, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Steven G. Rivkin & Eric A. Hanushek & John F. Kain, 2005. "Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(2), pages 417-458, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Jonah E. Rockoff, 2008. "Does Mentoring Reduce Turnover and Improve Skills of New Employees? Evidence from Teachers in New York City," NBER Working Papers 13868, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Andersson, Christian & Waldenström, Nina, 2007. "Teacher certification and student achievement in Swedish compulsory schools," Working Paper Series 2007:6, IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation. [Downloadable!]
  3. Peterson, Paul E. & Llaudet, Elena, 2006. "On the Public-Private School Achievement Debate," Working Paper Series rwp06-036, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. [Downloadable!]
  4. Donald Boyd & Hamilton Lankford & Susanna Loeb & Jonah Rockoff & James Wyckoff, 2008. "The Narrowing Gap in New York City Teacher Qualifications and its Implications for Student Achievement in High-Poverty Schools," NBER Working Papers 14021, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. 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!]
  6. Julie Berry Cullen & Brian A. Jacob, 2007. "Is Gaining Access to Selective Elementary Schools Gaining Ground? Evidence From Randomized Lotteries," NBER Working Papers 13443, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Jesse Rothstein, 2008. "Teacher Quality in Educational Production: Tracking, Decay, and Student Achievement," NBER Working Papers 14442, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. 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!]
  9. Steven Cantrell & Jon Fullerton & Thomas J. Kane & Douglas O. Staiger, 2008. "National Board Certification and Teacher Effectiveness: Evidence from a Random Assignment Experiment," NBER Working Papers 14608, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Eric A. Hanushek & Steven G. Rivkin, 2008. "Harming the Best: How Schools Affect the Black-White Achievement Gap," NBER Working Papers 14211, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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