Can Teachers Retain Their Effectiveness in Different School Settings?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: Policy Issues Related to Teacher Effectiveness

Abstract

Does a good teacher remain a good teacher across different schools and school settings? Does a teacher effective at raising student achievement in one school setting remain similarly effective if she moves to another school setting? We determine teachers’ effectiveness by estimating their independent contributions to their students’ achievement using a value-added model. We then examine teachers we observe change school setting, and compare the effectiveness of those teachers before and after the setting change using a difference-in-differences design. Preliminary results suggest movers from low- to high-minority schools may perform more effectively in the high-minority setting compared to teachers who changed schools, only. For most setting changes, however, we find no significant “effects” of setting change on teacher effectiveness.

Authors

• Zeyu Xu, American Institutes for Research

• Matthew Corritore, The Urban Institute

• Umut Ozek, American Institutes for Research