Does the Market Value Value-Added? Evidence from Housing Prices after a Public Release of School and Teacher Value-Added

47 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2013 Last revised: 7 May 2023

See all articles by Scott A. Imberman

Scott A. Imberman

Michigan State University; Michigan State University - College of Education

Michael Lovenheim

Cornell University - Department of Policy Analysis and Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 2013

Abstract

Value-added data are an increasingly common evaluation tool for schools and teachers. Many school districts have adopted these methods and released the results publicly. In this paper, we study the release of value-added data in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Times newspaper to identify how measured value-added is capitalized into housing prices. This analysis is the first in the school valuation literature to examine property value responses to a value-added information shock, which is of interest as this measure is less correlated with demographics than typical school quality measures. Unique to this setting as well is the release of both school and teacher-level value-added data, which allows us to examine how property values respond to both types of information. Using a difference-in-differences methodology surrounding the release, we find that neither school nor teacher value-added scores are capitalized into home prices. Our results suggest that, despite the contentiousness following these data releases, homeowners do not consider value-added models as currently constructed to be a relevant school quality measure on the margin.

Suggested Citation

Imberman, Scott Andrew and Lovenheim, Michael, Does the Market Value Value-Added? Evidence from Housing Prices after a Public Release of School and Teacher Value-Added (June 2013). NBER Working Paper No. w19157, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2282996

Scott Andrew Imberman (Contact Author)

Michigan State University ( email )

East Lansing, MI 48824
United States

Michigan State University - College of Education ( email )

East Lansing, MI
United States

Michael Lovenheim

Cornell University - Department of Policy Analysis and Management ( email )

Ithaca, NY
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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