Working Paper: NBER ID: w27543
Authors: Bryan S. Graham; Geert Ridder; Petra M. Thiemann; Gema Zamarro
Abstract: We study the effects of counterfactual teacher-to-classroom assignments on average student achievement in elementary and middle schools in the US. We use the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) experiment to semiparametrically identify the average reallocation effects (AREs) of such assignments. Our findings suggest that changes in within-district teacher assignments could have appreciable effects on student achievement. Unlike policies which require hiring additional teachers (e.g., class-size reduction measures), or those aimed at changing the stock of teachers (e.g., VAM-guided teacher tenure policies), alternative teacher-to-classroom assignments are resource neutral; they raise student achievement through a more efficient deployment of existing teachers.
Keywords: teacher assignment; student achievement; educational production; random assignment; policy implications
JEL Codes: C14; C36; I21; I24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| changes in within-district teacher assignments (J62) | average classroom student achievement (I24) |
| random assignment of teachers to classrooms (C90) | average test scores (C12) |
| teacher assignment policies (J45) | average classroom student achievement (I24) |
| teacher attributes + student attributes (A29) | average classroom student achievement (I24) |