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

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Author Info
Joshua D. Angrist
Jonathan Guryan

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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 National Teacher Examination. 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 the public schools. 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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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 9545.

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Date of creation: Mar 2003
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9545

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
J48 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Particular Labor Markets; Public Policy

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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.:
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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. 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)
  4. 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!]
  5. Kaoru Nabeshima, 2003. "Raising the quality of secondary education in East Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3140, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  6. 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!]
  7. 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!]
  8. 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!]
  9. 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!]
  10. Richard Buddin & Gena Zamarro, 2008. "Teacher Quality, Teacher Licensure Tests, and Student Achievement," Working Papers 555, RAND Corporation Publications Department. [Downloadable!]
  11. 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:
  12. 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!]
  13. 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!]
  14. 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)
  15. Arnaud Chevalier & Peter Dolton, 2004. "The Labour Market for Teachers," Working Papers 200411, School Of Economics, University College Dublin. [Downloadable!]
  16. 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!]
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