Do Value-Added Estimates Add Value? Accounting for Learning Dynamics

45 Pages Posted: 15 Dec 2009

See all articles by Tahir Andrabi

Tahir Andrabi

Pomona College - Department of Economics

Jishnu Das

Georgetown University; Georgetown University

Asim Ijaz Khwaja

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies (CeRP); Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Tristan Zajonc

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 28, 2009

Abstract

Evaluations of educational programs commonly assume that what children learn persists over time. The authors compare learning in Pakistani public and private schools using dynamic panel methods that account for three key empirical challenges to widely used value-added models: imperfect persistence, unobserved student heterogeneity, and measurement error. Their estimates suggest that only a fifth to a half of learning persists between grades and that private schools increase average achievement by 0.25 standard deviations each year. In contrast, estimates from commonly used value-added models significantly understate the impact of private schools' on student achievement and/or overstate persistence. These results have implications for program evaluation and value-added accountability system design.

Suggested Citation

Andrabi, Tahir and Das, Jishnu and Khwaja, Asim Ijaz and Zajonc, Tristan, Do Value-Added Estimates Add Value? Accounting for Learning Dynamics (October 28, 2009). HKS Working Paper No. RWP09-034, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1523300 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1523300

Tahir Andrabi (Contact Author)

Pomona College - Department of Economics ( email )

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Jishnu Das

Georgetown University ( email )

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Asim Ijaz Khwaja

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Tristan Zajonc

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

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United States

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