Department of Education

The Effect of Teacher Evaluation on Achievement and Attainment

Starting in 2009, the U.S. public education system undertook a massive effort to institute new high-stakes teacher evaluation systems. A new working paper examines the effects of these reforms on student achievement and attainment at a national scale by exploiting the staggered timing of implementation across states.

Abstract

Starting in 2009, the U.S. public education system undertook a massive effort to institute new high-stakes teacher evaluation systems. We examine the effects of these reforms on student achievement and attainment at a national scale by exploiting the staggered timing of implementation across states. We find precisely estimated null effects, on average, that rule out impacts as small as 1.5 percent of a standard deviation for achievement and 1 percentage point for high school graduation and college enrollment. We also find little evidence of heterogeneous effects across an index measuring system design rigor, specific design features, and district characteristics.

Authors

  • Joshua Bleiberg, Brown University
  • Eric Brunner, University of Connecticut
  • Erica Harbatkin, Michigan State University
  • Matthew A. Kraft, Brown University
  • Matthew G. Springer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Citation

Bleiberg, Joshua, Eric Brunner, Erica Harbatkin, Matthew A. Kraft, and Matthew Springer. (2021). The Effect of Teacher Evaluation on Achievement and Attainment: Evidence from Statewide Reforms. (EdWorkingPaper: 21-496). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/b1ak-r251
 

Read at EdWorkingPapers →


Related Link

Madeline Will, "Efforts to Toughen Teacher Evaluations Show No Positive Impact on Students," Education Week, November 29, 2021