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Teacher Quality and Student Inequality

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  • Richard K. Mansfield

Abstract

This paper uses 11 years of administrative data from North Carolina public high schools to examine the extent to which the allocation of teachers within and across public high schools is contributing to inequality in student test score performance. The existence of nearly 3,500 teacher transfers allows separate identification of each teacher's quality from other school-level factors. I find that teaching quality is fairly equitably distributed both within and across high schools: students among the bottom (top) decile of a student background index are taught by teachers who are, on average, at the 41st (57th) percentile of the value-added distribution.

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  • Richard K. Mansfield, 2015. "Teacher Quality and Student Inequality," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(3), pages 751-788.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/679683
    DOI: 10.1086/679683
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    Cited by:

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    2. Rothstein , Jesse, 2017. "Revisiting the Impacts of Teachers," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt5gq4j7kq, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    3. Gershenson, Seth, 2021. "Identifying and Producing Effective Teachers," IZA Discussion Papers 14096, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Figlio, D. & Karbownik, K. & Salvanes, K.G., 2016. "Education Research and Administrative Data," Handbook of the Economics of Education,, Elsevier.
    5. Diether W Beuermann & C Kirabo Jackson & Laia Navarro-Sola & Francisco Pardo, 2023. "What is a Good School, and Can Parents Tell? Evidence on the Multidimensionality of School Output," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(1), pages 65-101.
    6. Xu, Lei & Tani, Massimiliano & Zhu, Yu, 2024. "Can the Teaching Style Reduce Inequality in the Classroom? Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 17135, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Eric Isenberg & Jeffrey Max & Philip Gleason & Matthew Johnson & Jonah Deutsch & Michael Hansen, "undated". "Do Low-Income Students Have Equal Access to Effective Teachers? Evidence from 26 Districts (Final Report)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports ce9ae6b49ff34e388113f31ca, Mathematica Policy Research.
    8. Jeffrey Max & Steven Glazerman, 2014. "Do Disadvantaged Students Get Less Effective Teaching? Key Findings from Recent Institute of Education Sciences Studies (Evaluation Brief)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports a7da30900bb047038d31acd56, Mathematica Policy Research.
    9. Escribano, Rosario & Treviño, Ernesto & Nussbaum, Miguel & Torres Irribarra, David & Carrasco, Diego, 2020. "How much does the quality of teaching vary at under-performing schools? Evidence from classroom observations in Chile," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Michael Bates & Michael Dinerstein & Andrew C. Johnston & Isaac Sorkin, 2022. "Teacher Labor Market Equilibrium and Student Achievement," CESifo Working Paper Series 9551, CESifo.
    11. Cook, Jason B. & Mansfield, Richard K., 2016. "Task-specific experience and task-specific talent: Decomposing the productivity of high school teachers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 51-72.
    12. Jonah Deutsch & Matthew Johnson & Brian Gill, "undated". "The Promotion Power Impacts of Louisiana High Schools," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 2c041387caf14e9eac49cd539, Mathematica Policy Research.
    13. Jesse Rothstein, 2017. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1656-1684, June.
    14. Sorensen, Lucy C. & Holt, Stephen B., 2021. "Sorting it Out: The Effects of Charter Expansion on Teacher and Student Composition at Traditional Public Schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    15. Johnston, Andrew C., 2021. "Preferences, Selection, and the Structure of Teacher Pay," IZA Discussion Papers 14831, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Hermann, Zoltán & Horváth, Hedvig, 2022. "Tanári eredményesség és tanár-diák összepárosítás az általános iskolákban. Empirikus mintázatok három magyarországi tankerület adatai alapján [Teacher effectiveness and teacher-student matching in ," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 1377-1406.
    17. Erin Dillon & Steven Malick, "undated". "Teacher Turnover and Access to Effective Teachers in the School District of Philadelphia," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 700eafe8d79f4e6da94c86be5, Mathematica Policy Research.
    18. Cowan, James & Goldhaber, Dan, 2018. "Do bonuses affect teacher staffing and student achievement in high poverty schools? Evidence from an incentive for national board certified teachers in Washington State," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 138-152.
    19. Koedel, Cory & Mihaly, Kata & Rockoff, Jonah E., 2015. "Value-added modeling: A review," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 180-195.
    20. Godøy, Anna & Huitfeldt, Ingrid, 2020. "Regional variation in health care utilization and mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    21. Bartanen, Brendan & Husain, Aliza N., 2022. "Connected networks in principal value-added models," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    22. Elias Walsh & Eric Isenberg, 2013. "How Does a Value-Added Model Compare to the Colorado Growth Model?," Mathematica Policy Research Reports e703eea3252e43d39fee791e5, Mathematica Policy Research.

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