Can value-added measures of teacher performance be trusted?

Arbeitspapier

We investigate whether commonly used value-added estimation strategies can produce accurate estimates of teacher effects. We estimate teacher effects in simulated student achievement data sets that mimic plausible types of student grouping and teacher assignment scenarios. No one method accurately captures true teacher effects in all scenarios, and the potential for misclassifying teachers as high- or low-performing can be substantial. Misspecifying dynamic relationships can exacerbate estimation problems. However, some estimators are more robust across scenarios and better suited to estimating teacher effects than others.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 6602

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Education and Research Institutions: General ; Labor Economics Policies ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Professional Labor Markets; Occupational Licensing
• Subject: education ; teacher labor markets ; value-added ; student achievement ; Lehrkräfte ; Bildungsniveau ; Wertschöpfung ; Schätztheorie ; Simulation

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Guarino, Cassandra ; Reckase, Mark D. ; Wooldridge, Jeffrey M.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/62407
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET