SREE Inaugural Conference Low Performing Schools and The Market for Teachers Eric A. Hanushek Stanford University December 2006

What We “Know” and Some Policies  Teachers are most important aspect of schools  Schools for disadvantaged students particularly bad  Improving performance and closing achievement gaps require improved teacher policies

Common Policy Discussion  We need to increase teacher salaries Best teachers leave to other occupations We face large shortages in math, special education, and foreign languages Best teachers leave most disadvantaged schools  We need to tightened teacher entry Unqualified teachers in the classrooms Disadvantaged schools get new, unqualified teachers

Quality Measurement  Salary and cognitive tests have fallen

Quality Measurement  Salary and cognitive tests have fallen But implications for quality uncertain  Measured characteristics unrelated to achievement Teacher education Teacher experience* Certification Teacher test scores*

Value of Longitudinal Data  Important to follow students and teachers Understanding influences of contemporaneous influences Dealing with unobserved heterogeneity Diagnosing potential biases

Examples from Texas Schools Project of University of Texas at Dallas  Teacher mobility  Teacher quality  Policy implications

Considerable Movement of Teachers  Lots of school changing

Teacher Experience Stay Change school Change district Quit 0-2 yr yr Annual Percentage Movements Texas Teachers

Considerable Movement of Teachers  Lots of school changing  Movement is systematic Student achievement Race/ethnicity salary

Change in Salary and Student Characteristics: District Switchers Men 0-2 yr Women 0-2 yr Salary (log) Test score % Hispanic-4.8 % Black % subsidized lunch

Panel Estimators of Teacher Quality

Average Quality Differences (compared to stayers) Compared to district Compared to school Change campus Change district Quit

Policy Implications  Cannot regulate good quality  Across the board salary increases unlikely to work  Single salary schedule precludes quality improvement  Need to think of working conditions

Some Research Issues  Measurement/estimation error  Stability over time  Policy alternatives and experimentation

Opportunities and Problems  NCLB and state data Availability of student performance data IES grants for longitudinal data  FERPA Lack of access