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Measuring teacher and school effectiveness at improving student achievement in Los Angeles elementary schools

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  • Buddin, Richard

Abstract

This study uses longitudinal student-level test score data to examine the effectiveness of elementary teachers and schools in Los Angeles. The results show that teacher effectiveness varies widely both across the Los Angeles school district and within district schools. Controlling for student background and preparation, we find only modest difference across schools in improving student achievement. We explore the sensitivity of teacher and school effectiveness measures to alternative regression controls. We find that teacher and school effectiveness measures are relatively insensitive to detailed controls for student and peer heterogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Buddin, Richard, 2011. "Measuring teacher and school effectiveness at improving student achievement in Los Angeles elementary schools," MPRA Paper 31963, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:31963
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/31963/1/MPRA_paper_31963.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Buddin & Gema Zamarro, 2008. "Teacher Quality, Teacher Licensure Tests, and Student Achievement," Working Papers WR-555-IES, RAND Corporation.
    2. Angrist, Joshua D. & Guryan, Jonathan, 2008. "Does teacher testing raise teacher quality? Evidence from state certification requirements," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 483-503, October.
    3. Thomas J. Kane & Douglas O. Staiger, 2008. "Estimating Teacher Impacts on Student Achievement: An Experimental Evaluation," NBER Working Papers 14607, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Daniel F. McCaffrey & Tim R. Sass & J. R. Lockwood & Kata Mihaly, 2009. "The Intertemporal Variability of Teacher Effect Estimates," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 4(4), pages 572-606, October.
    5. Charles T. Clotfelter & Helen F. Ladd & Jacob L. Vigdor, 2007. "How and Why do Teacher Credentials Matter for Student Achievement?," NBER Working Papers 12828, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Daniel Aaronson & Lisa Barrow & William Sander, 2007. "Teachers and Student Achievement in the Chicago Public High Schools," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(1), pages 95-135.
    7. Buddin, Richard & Zamarro, Gema, 2009. "Teacher qualifications and student achievement in urban elementary schools," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 103-115, September.
    8. Strauss, Robert P. & Sawyer, Elizabeth A., 1986. "Some new evidence on teacher and student competencies," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 41-48, February.
    9. Douglas Harris & Tim R. Sass, 2006. "The Effects of Teacher Training on Teacher Value Added," Working Papers wp_2006_03_01, Department of Economics, Florida State University.
    10. Jesse Rothstein, 2010. "Teacher Quality in Educational Production: Tracking, Decay, and Student Achievement," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 175-214.
    11. Brian A. Jacob & Lars Lefgren, 2008. "Can Principals Identify Effective Teachers? Evidence on Subjective Performance Evaluation in Education," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(1), pages 101-136.
    12. 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.
    13. Richard Buddin & Gema Zamarro, 2009. "Teacher Qualifications and Middle School Student Achievement," Working Papers 671, RAND Corporation.
    14. Buddin, Richard, 2010. "How effective are Los Angeles elementary teachers and schools?," MPRA Paper 27366, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Richard Buddin & Gema Zamarro, 2009. "Teacher Effectiveness in Urban High Schools," Working Papers WR-693-IES, RAND Corporation.
    16. George J. Borjas, 2021. "Self-Selection and the Earnings of Immigrants," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 4, pages 69-91, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    17. Richard Buddin & Gena Zamarro, 2008. "Teacher Quality, Teacher Licensure Tests, and Student Achievement," Working Papers 555, RAND Corporation.
    18. Richard Buddin & Gema Zamarro, 2009. "Teacher Effectiveness in Urban High Schools," Working Papers 693, RAND Corporation.
    19. Donald Boyd & Hamilton Lankford & Susanna Loeb & James Wyckoff, 2005. "The draw of home: How teachers' preferences for proximity disadvantage urban schools," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 113-132.
    20. Hanushek, Eric A, 1986. "The Economics of Schooling: Production and Efficiency in Public Schools," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 1141-1177, September.
    21. Dan Goldhaber, 2007. "Everyone’s Doing It, But What Does Teacher Testing Tell Us About Teacher Effectiveness?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(4).
    22. Richard Buddin & Gema Zamarro, 2009. "Teacher Qualifications and Middle School Student Achievement," Working Papers WR-671-IES, RAND Corporation.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Nirav Mehta, 2019. "Measuring quality for use in incentive schemes: The case of “shrinkage” estimators," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 10(4), pages 1537-1577, November.
    2. Pope, Nolan G., 2019. "The effect of teacher ratings on teacher performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 84-110.
    3. Imberman, Scott A. & Lovenheim, Michael F., 2016. "Does the market value value-added? Evidence from housing prices after a public release of school and teacher value-added," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 104-121.
    4. Steven Dieterle & Cassandra M. Guarino & Mark D. Reckase & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2015. "How do Principals Assign Students to Teachers? Finding Evidence in Administrative Data and the Implications for Value Added," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 32-58, January.
    5. Nirav Mehta, 2019. "Measuring quality for use in incentive schemes: The case of “shrinkage” estimators," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 10(4), pages 1537-1577, November.
    6. Bergman, Peter & Hill, Matthew J., 2018. "The effects of making performance information public: Regression discontinuity evidence from Los Angeles teachers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 104-113.
    7. Cassandra M. Guarino & Mark D. Reckase & Jeffrey M. Woolrdige, 2014. "Can Value-Added Measures of Teacher Performance Be Trusted?," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 10(1), pages 117-156, November.
    8. Peter Leopold S. Bergman & Matthew J. Hill, 2015. "The Effects of Making Performance Information Public: Evidence from Los Angeles Teachers and a Regression Discontinuity Design," CESifo Working Paper Series 5383, CESifo.
    9. Nirav Mehta, 2014. "Targeting the Wrong Teachers: Estimating Teacher Quality for Use in Accountability Regimes," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20143, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
    10. Katherine E. Castellano & Sophia Rabe-Hesketh & Anders Skrondal, 2014. "Composition, Context, and Endogeneity in School and Teacher Comparisons," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, , vol. 39(5), pages 333-367, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Student achievement; Teacher effectiveness; Value-added;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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