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Teacher Evaluations and Pupil Achievement Gains: Evidence from Classroom Observations

Author

Listed:
  • Marc Steeg

    (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis
    Dutch Ministry of Education, Science and Culture)

  • Sander Gerritsen

    (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis)

Abstract

This chapter investigates the relationship between teacher evaluations and pupil performance gains in primary education. Teacher evaluations have been conducted by trained external evaluators who scored teachers on a detailed rubric containing 75 classroom practices. These practices reflect pedagogical, didactical and classroom organization competences considered crucial for effective teaching. Conditional on previous year test scores and several pupil and classroom characteristics the score on this rubric significantly predicts pupil performance gains on standardized tests in math, reading and spelling. Estimated test score gains are in the order of 0.4 standard deviations in math and spelling and 0.25 standard deviations in reading if a pupil is assigned a teacher from the top quartile instead of the bottom quartile of the distribution of the evaluation rubric. The observation rubric particularly seems to have potential to identify weak teachers. These observations may stimulate targeted teacher improvement plans and personnel decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc Steeg & Sander Gerritsen, 2016. "Teacher Evaluations and Pupil Achievement Gains: Evidence from Classroom Observations," De Economist, Springer, vol. 164(4), pages 419-443, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:decono:v:164:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10645-016-9280-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10645-016-9280-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Aenneli Houkes-Hommes & Bas Weel & Karen Wiel, 2016. "Measuring the Contribution of Primary-School Teachers to Education Outcomes in The Netherlands," De Economist, Springer, vol. 164(4), pages 357-364, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Teacher evaluation; Pupil achievement; Teacher value-added; Teacher quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets

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