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Measuring the Impacts of Teachers I: Evaluating Bias in Teacher Value-Added Estimates

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Listed:
  • Chetty, Nadarajan
  • Friedman, John
  • Rockoff, Jonah E.

Abstract

Are teachers' impacts on students' test scores ("value-added") a good measure of their quality? One reason this question has sparked debate is disagreement about whether value-added (VA) measures provide unbiased estimates of teachers' causal impacts on student achievement. We test for bias in VA using previously unobserved parent characteristics and a quasi-experimental design based on changes in teaching staff. Using school district and tax records for more than one million children, we find that VA models which control for a student's prior test scores exhibit little bias in forecasting teachers' impacts on student achievement.

Suggested Citation

  • Chetty, Nadarajan & Friedman, John & Rockoff, Jonah E., 2014. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers I: Evaluating Bias in Teacher Value-Added Estimates," Scholarly Articles 30749073, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hrv:faseco:30749073
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonah E. Rockoff, 2004. "The Impact of Individual Teachers on Student Achievement: Evidence from Panel Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 247-252, May.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H0 - Public Economics - - General
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare

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