Working Paper: NBER ID: w17176
Authors: Matthew Ronfeldt; Hamilton Lankford; Susanna Loeb; James Wyckoff
Abstract: Researchers and policymakers often assume that teacher turnover harms student achievement, but recent evidence calls into question this assumption. Using a unique identification strategy that employs grade-level turnover and two classes of fixed-effects models, this study estimates the effects of teacher turnover on over 600,000 New York City 4th and 5th grade student observations over 5 years. The results indicate that students in grade-levels with higher turnover score lower in both ELA and math and that this effect is particularly strong in schools with more low-performing and black students. Moreover, the results suggest that there is a disruptive effect of turnover beyond changing the composition in teacher quality.
Keywords: teacher turnover; student achievement; education policy
JEL Codes: I21
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Teacher Turnover (J63) | Student Achievement (I24) |
| Higher Teacher Turnover Rates (J63) | Lower Student Achievement (I24) |
| Teacher Turnover (J63) | Disruption Effect on Student Achievement (D29) |
| Teacher Quality Changes (I21) | Student Achievement (I24) |
| Turnover in Schools with Low-Performing Students (I21) | Stronger Negative Impact on Student Achievement (I24) |