Can Value-Added Measures of Teacher Performance Be Trusted?

Cassandra Guarino, Mark D. Reckase () and Jeffrey Wooldridge
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Mark D. Reckase: Michigan State University

No 6602, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: value-added; teacher labor markets; education; student achievement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 J08 J24 J44 J45 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2012-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ecm, nep-edu and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

Published - published in: Education Finance and Policy, 2015, 10 (1), 117-156

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Related works:
Journal Article: Can Value-Added Measures of Teacher Performance Be Trusted? (2014)
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