Working Paper: NBER ID: w15803
Authors: Thomas J. Kane; Eric S. Taylor; John H. Tyler; Amy L. Wooten
Abstract: Recent research has confirmed both the importance of teachers in producing student achievement growth and in the variability across teachers in the ability to do that. Such findings raise the stakes on our ability to identify effective teachers and teaching practices. This paper combines information from classroom-based observations and measures of teachers' ability to improve student achievement as a step toward addressing these challenges. We find that classroom based measures of teaching effectiveness are related in substantial ways to student achievement growth. Our results point to the promise of teacher evaluation systems that would use information from both classroom observations and student test scores to identify effective teachers. Our results also offer information on the types of practices that are most effective at raising achievement.
Keywords: teacher effectiveness; student achievement; classroom observations; evaluation systems
JEL Codes: I21; J45
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Classroom observations (C90) | improved student achievement (I24) |
| Higher scores on classroom observation measures (TES scores) (C90) | significant increases in student achievement growth (I24) |
| A one-point increase in the average TES score (C21) | improved student performance (D29) |
| Teachers who emphasize classroom environment (A21) | better student gains in math and reading (I24) |
| Teaching through questioning and discussion (A21) | positive link to reading achievement (I24) |
| Teaching through questioning and discussion (A21) | no link to math achievement (C29) |