An Analysis of Dallas Independent School District’s Teacher Excellence Initiative on Student Achievement

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 9:00 am
  In Roundtable Session: About Teachers: Incentive, Measuring Professional Development Effectiveness, and Teachers’ Buy-In for Interventions (Table 27)

Abstract

Teacher quality remains a focus of educational policy as strongly associated with student achievement. In the past decades, several incentives have been introduced across the states aimed at increasing teacher quality. In this study, we evaluated one such incentive in the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD). We examined Dallas ISD’s Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) implemented in 2015. Using difference in differences approach, we did not find significant positive effects of TEI on student achievement in mathematics or reading, but we observed some benefits for Hispanic, Asian, and Black students relative to White students, and benefits for English Language Learners and free-or-reduced-lunch-eligible students. One set of students seemingly disadvantaged by the TEI were students with special needs.

Authors

• Margarita Pivovarova, Arizona State University

• Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Arizona State University

• Yaxin Wang, Arizona State University