Working Paper: NBER ID: w31073
Authors: Eric A. Hanushek; Jin Luo; Andrew J. Morgan; Minh Nguyen; Ben Ost; Steven G. Rivkin; Ayman Shakeel
Abstract: A fundamental question for education policy is whether outcomes-based accountability including comprehensive educator evaluations and a closer relationship between effectiveness and compensation improves the quality of instruction and raises achievement. We use synthetic control methods to study the comprehensive teacher and principal evaluation and compensation systems introduced in the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) in 2013 for principals and 2015 for teachers. Under this far-reaching reform, educator evaluations that are used to support teacher growth and determine salary depend on a combination of supervisor evaluations, student achievement, and student or family survey responses. The reform replaced salary scales based on experience and educational attainment with those based on evaluation scores, a radical departure from decades of rigid salary schedules. The synthetic control estimates reveal positive and significant effects of the reforms on math and reading achievement that increase over time. From 2015 through 2019, the average achievement for the synthetic control district fluctuates narrowly between -0.27 s.d. and -0.3 s.d., while the Dallas ISD average increases steadily from \n-0.28 s.d. in 2015 to -0.08 s.d. in 2019, the final year of the sample. Though the increase for reading is roughly half as large, it is also highly significant.
Keywords: educator evaluation; pay reform; student achievement
JEL Codes: H75; I20; I21; J30; J45
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Teacher turnover (J63) | Teacher composition improvement (A29) |
| Strengthened performance incentives and better school leadership (D29) | Student achievement in math (I24) |
| Comprehensive educator evaluation and pay reforms (J33) | Student achievement in math (I24) |
| Comprehensive educator evaluation and pay reforms (J33) | Student achievement in reading (I24) |
| Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) and Principal Excellence Initiative (PEI) (A29) | Student achievement in math (I24) |