Between-Sector Differences in the Effects of Teacher Characteristics upon Student Outcomes

• In Event: 151 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 26. The Continuing Significance of Teacher and School Effects

Abstract

In the extensive series of discussions over what factors have the greatest impact upon student learning within the primary school sphere, scholars agree that teacher quality matters to a high degree. Previous research on teacher effects has tended to focus on which teacher characteristics and credentials best predict student learning. In contrast, whether or not school sector effects exist is subject to a fierce, longstanding, and inconclusive debate. In the midst of these ongoing discussions of teacher and sector effects, few scholars have considered these two phenomena as intimately connected. In order to do this, I empirically examine whether teacher effects on student achievement are moderated by sector using large-scale institutional data on primary school students from the Indiana Department of Education and a student-level fixed effects model of value-added student achievement, as measured by standardized test scores. I hypothesize that teacher effects will have a smaller impact upon student achievement in charter and Catholic schools than in traditional public schools and that this effect will be driven by teachers will less qualifications. I theorize that this is the result of institutional characteristics that make students more durable to placement with a less skilled teacher, and provide an atmosphere more conducive to teacher improvement.

Author

• Brian R. Fitzpatrick, University of Notre Dame