IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecoedu/v101y2024ics0272775724000529.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of teacher tenure on productivity and selection

Author

Listed:
  • Ng, Kevin

Abstract

I examine productivity and selection effects of K-12 teacher tenure by leveraging variation from New Jersey’s TEACHNJ Act, which extended the pretenure period. Using a difference-in-differences design, I evaluate the productivity effects of tenure by comparing fourth-year tenured and pretenured teachers. I find math value-added declines but English language arts value-added and ratings remain unchanged. Focusing on labor market effects, I compare teachers hired before and after TEACHNJ within the same district and experience level. TEACHNJ disproportionately increased male and Black teacher turnover, as the policy was tied to subjective evaluation criteria. TEACHNJ did not impact the quality of the teacher labor market as measured by value-added, though higher rated teachers often filled new vacancies. This matches principal–agent models where schools only use ratings to guide personnel decisions. Overall, tenure generates small declines in math value-added, while reforms tied to subjective evaluations disproportionately increase male and Black teacher turnover.

Suggested Citation

  • Ng, Kevin, 2024. "The effects of teacher tenure on productivity and selection," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:101:y:2024:i:c:s0272775724000529
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102558
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775724000529
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102558?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas S. Dee, 2004. "Teachers, Race, and Student Achievement in a Randomized Experiment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 195-210, February.
    2. Julie Berry Cullen & Cory Koedel & Eric Parsons, 2021. "The Compositional Effect of Rigorous Teacher Evaluation on Workforce Quality," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 16(1), pages 7-41, Winter.
    3. Markus Nagler & Marc Piopiunik & Martin R. West, 2020. "Weak Markets, Strong Teachers: Recession at Career Start and Teacher Effectiveness," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(2), pages 453-500.
    4. Marianno, Bradley D. & Strunk, Katharine O., 2018. "The bad end of the bargain?: Revisiting the relationship between collective bargaining agreements and student achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 93-106.
    5. Papay, John P. & Kraft, Matthew A., 2015. "Productivity returns to experience in the teacher labor market: Methodological challenges and new evidence on long-term career improvement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 105-119.
    6. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2008. "Bootstrap-Based Improvements for Inference with Clustered Errors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 414-427, August.
    7. Seth Gershenson & Cassandra M. D. Hart & Joshua Hyman & Constance A. Lindsay & Nicholas W. Papageorge, 2022. "The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 300-342, November.
    8. Barbara Biasi, 2021. "The Labor Market for Teachers under Different Pay Schemes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 63-102, August.
    9. Cowen, Joshua M. & Strunk, Katharine O., 2015. "The impact of teachers’ unions on educational outcomes: What we know and what we need to learn," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 208-223.
    10. Raj Chetty & John N. Friedman & Jonah E. Rockoff, 2014. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers II: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2633-2679, September.
    11. Douglas O. Staiger & Jonah E. Rockoff, 2010. "Searching for Effective Teachers with Imperfect Information," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 97-118, Summer.
    12. Aucejo, Esteban & Romano, Teresa & Taylor, Eric S., 2019. "Does evaluation distort teacher effort and decisions? Quasi-experimental evidence from a policy of retesting students," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102689, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Eric A. Hanushek & Steven G. Rivkin, 2010. "Generalizations about Using Value-Added Measures of Teacher Quality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 267-271, May.
    14. C. Kirabo Jackson & Jonah E. Rockoff & Douglas O. Staiger, 2014. "Teacher Effects and Teacher-Related Policies," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 801-825, August.
    15. Hanushek, Eric A. & Rivkin, Steven G. & Schiman, Jeffrey C., 2016. "Dynamic effects of teacher turnover on the quality of instruction," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 132-148.
    16. Caroline Minter Hoxby, 1996. "How Teachers' Unions Affect Education Production," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(3), pages 671-718.
    17. Matthew A. Kraft, 2015. "Teacher Layoffs, Teacher Quality, and Student Achievement: Evidence from a Discretionary Layoff Policy," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 10(4), pages 467-507, October.
    18. Jesse Rothstein, 2017. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1656-1684, June.
    19. Michael F. Lovenheim & Alexander Willén, 2019. "The Long-Run Effects of Teacher Collective Bargaining," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 292-324, August.
    20. Holmstrom, Bengt & Milgrom, Paul, 1991. "Multitask Principal-Agent Analyses: Incentive Contracts, Asset Ownership, and Job Design," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(0), pages 24-52, Special I.
    21. Ben Ost, 2014. "How Do Teachers Improve? The Relative Importance of Specific and General Human Capital," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 127-151, April.
    22. 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.
    23. 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.
    24. Jesse Rothstein, 2015. "Teacher Quality Policy When Supply Matters," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(1), pages 100-130, January.
    25. Wiswall, Matthew, 2013. "The dynamics of teacher quality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 61-78.
    26. repec:tpr:journl:edfpol:v:10:y:2015:i:4:p:467-507 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. Thomas S. Dee, 2005. "A Teacher Like Me: Does Race, Ethnicity, or Gender Matter?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 158-165, May.
    28. Thomas S. Dee, 2007. "Teachers and the Gender Gaps in Student Achievement," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(3).
    29. George Baker, 2002. "Distortion and Risk in Optimal Incentive Contracts," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(4), pages 728-751.
    30. Holt, Stephen B. & Papageorge, Nicholas W., 2016. "Who believes in me? The effect of student–teacher demographic match on teacher expectationsAuthor-Name: Gershenson, Seth," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 209-224.
    31. Michael Jones, 2015. "How do teachers respond to tenure?," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-19, December.
    32. Eric S. Taylor & John H. Tyler, 2012. "The Effect of Evaluation on Teacher Performance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(7), pages 3628-3651, December.
    33. David S. Lee, 2009. "Training, Wages, and Sample Selection: Estimating Sharp Bounds on Treatment Effects," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 76(3), pages 1071-1102.
    34. Egalite, Anna J. & Kisida, Brian & Winters, Marcus A., 2015. "Representation in the classroom: The effect of own-race teachers on student achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 44-52.
    35. John P. Papay & Eric S. Taylor & John H. Tyler & Mary E. Laski, 2020. "Learning Job Skills from Colleagues at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment Using Teacher Performance Data," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 359-388, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gershenson, Seth, 2021. "Identifying and Producing Effective Teachers," IZA Discussion Papers 14096, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Gershenson, Seth & Holt, Stephen B. & Papageorge, Nicholas W., 2015. "Who Believes in Me? The Effect of Student-Teacher Demographic Match on Teacher Expectations," IZA Discussion Papers 9202, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Johnston, Andrew C., 2021. "Preferences, Selection, and the Structure of Teacher Pay," IZA Discussion Papers 14831, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Michael Bates & Michael Dinerstein & Andrew C. Johnston & Isaac Sorkin, 2022. "Teacher Labor Market Equilibrium and Student Achievement," CESifo Working Paper Series 9551, CESifo.
    5. Dhushyanth Raju, 2017. "Public School Teacher Management in Sri Lanka," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 18(1), pages 39-63, March.
    6. Gershenson, Seth & Lindsay, Constance A. & Papageorge, Nicholas W. & Campbell, Romaine & Rendon, Jessica H., 2023. "Spillover Effects of Black Teachers on White Teachers' Racial Competency: Mixed Methods Evidence from North Carolina," IZA Discussion Papers 16258, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. John P. Papay & Eric S. Taylor & John H. Tyler & Mary Laski, 2016. "Learning Job Skills from Colleagues at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment Using Teacher Performance Data," NBER Working Papers 21986, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Liebowitz, David D., 2021. "Teacher evaluation for accountability and growth: Should policy treat them as complements or substitutes?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Jacob, Brian A. & Rockoff, Jonah E. & Taylor, Eric S. & Lindy, Benjamin & Rosen, Rachel, 2018. "Teacher applicant hiring and teacher performance: Evidence from DC public schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 81-97.
    10. Bohdana Kurylo, 2021. "The Impact of Same-Race Teachers on Student Behavioral Outcomes," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp695, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    11. Oliver, Daniel & Fairlie, Robert & Millhauser, Glenn & Roland, Randa, 2021. "Minority student and teaching assistant interactions in STEM," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    12. Delhommer, Scott, 2022. "High school role models and minority college achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    13. Julie Berry Cullen & Cory Koedel & Eric Parsons, 2021. "The Compositional Effect of Rigorous Teacher Evaluation on Workforce Quality," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 16(1), pages 7-41, Winter.
    14. Huang, Wei & Li, Teng & Pan, Yinghao & Ren, Jinyang, 2023. "Teacher characteristics and student performance: Evidence from random teacher-student assignments in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 747-781.
    15. Naven, Matthew, 2020. "Within-School Heterogeneity in Quality: Do Schools Provide Equal Value Added to All Students?," MPRA Paper 100123, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Nirav Mehta, 2022. "A Partial Identification Approach to Identifying the Determinants of Human Capital Accumulation: An Application to Teachers," University of Western Ontario, Departmental Research Report Series 20221, University of Western Ontario, Department of Economics.
    17. Hayes, Michael S. & Liu, Jing & Gershenson, Seth, 2023. "Who refers whom? The effects of teacher characteristics on disciplinary office referrals," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    18. Jessalynn James & Matthew A. Kraft & John P. Papay, 2023. "Local supply, temporal dynamics, and unrealized potential in teacher hiring," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(4), pages 1010-1044, September.
    19. Hinrichs, Peter, 2021. "What kind of teachers are schools looking for? Evidence from a randomized field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 395-411.
    20. Lisa Sofie Höckel, 2024. "Language lesson learned—foreign-origin teachers and their effect on students’ language skills," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 1-32, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:101:y:2024:i:c:s0272775724000529. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/econedurev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.