Teacher-Student Matching and the Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness

56 Pages Posted: 19 Apr 2006 Last revised: 14 Aug 2022

See all articles by Charles T. Clotfelter

Charles T. Clotfelter

Duke University - Sanford School of Public Policy; Duke University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Helen F. Ladd

Duke University - Sanford School of Public Policy

Jacob L. Vigdor

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: January 2006

Abstract

We use administrative data on North Carolina public schools to document the tendency for more highly qualified teachers to be matched with more advantaged students, and we measure the bias this pattern generates in estimates of the impacts of various teacher qualifications on student achievement. One of the strategies we use to minimize this bias is to restrict the analysis to schools that assign students to classrooms in a manner statistically indistinguishable from random assignment. Using data for 5th grade, we consistently find significant returns to teacher experience in both math and reading and to licensure test scores in math achievement. We also find that the returns in math are greater for socioeconomically advantaged students, a finding that may help explain why the observed form of teacher-student matching persists in equilibrium.

Suggested Citation

Clotfelter, Charles T. and Ladd, Helen F. and Vigdor, Jacob L., Teacher-Student Matching and the Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness (January 2006). NBER Working Paper No. w11936, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=883069

Charles T. Clotfelter (Contact Author)

Duke University - Sanford School of Public Policy ( email )

Box 90245
Durham, NC 27708
United States
919-613-7361 (Phone)
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Duke University - Department of Economics

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Helen F. Ladd

Duke University - Sanford School of Public Policy ( email )

201 Science Drive
Box 90312
Durham, NC 27708-0239
United States
919-613-7352 (Phone)

Jacob L. Vigdor

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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