Teacher Credentials and Student Achievement in High School: A Cross-Subject Analysis with Student Fixed Effects

Abstract

We use data on statewide end-of-course tests in North Carolina to examine the relationship between teacher credentials and student achievement at the high school level. The availability of test scores in multiple subjects for each student permits us to estimate a model with student fixed effects, which helps minimize any bias associated with the non-random distribution of teachers and students among classrooms within schools. We find compelling evidence that teacher credentials affect student achievement in systematic ways and that the magnitudes are large enough to be policy relevant. As a result, the uneven distribution of teacher credentials by race and socioeconomic status of high school students-a pattern we also document-contributes to achievement gaps in high school.

Aboriginal Early School Leavers On- and Off-Reserve: An Empirical Analysis

“…It is somewhat surprising that the strong negative correlation between having an Aboriginal teacher and LSE is not also observed in younger cohorts living off-reserve. Studies examining the effect of teacher credentials and student achievement find that minority students' test scores are higher with a black teacher than a white teacher (e.g., Clotfelter, Ladd, and Vigdor 2010;Hanushek et al 2005). While a larger proportion of the on-reserve sample reported having an Aboriginal teacher, the number of off-reserve respondents who had an Aboriginal teacher is also sizable, particularly for the younger cohort of 18-25-year-olds.…”

Teacher Performance Trajectories in High- and Lower-Poverty Schools

“…If the two sets of student characteristics were sufficiently similar (defined as the mean squared difference of the three classroom characteristics), we would confirm a test proctor to be the actual instructor. This verification process has been successfully implemented in a number of earlier studies using the same North Carolina data (see Goldhaber & Anthony, 2007;Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2010;Xu, Hannaway, & Taylor, 2011, for more details).…”

Is ATAR useful for predicting the Success of Australian Students in Initial Teacher Education?

“…For example, measures of high-school achievement and the number of mathematics classes associate highly with the mathematical content and pedagogical content knowledge of graduating teachers and their subsequent effectiveness in improving student achievement over their early years of teaching (Blomeke, Suhl, Kaiser, & Dohrmann, 2012). However, other research about the relative impact of teachers with high scores on standardised tests, compared to teachers with average scores, points to marginal but small differences in the achievement gains of their students on reading and mathematics at primary (elementary) level (Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2007) and across varied subjects at secondary (college) level (Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2010). Even if it is assumed that higher standardised test scores for teachers translates into higher achievement for students the price of change is significant for nations wishing to attract students into teaching.…”