Matthew G. Springer

Using Student Test Scores to Measure Teacher Performance Some Problems in the Design and Implementation of Evaluation Systems

Our aim in this article is to draw attention to some underappreciated problems in the design and implementation of evaluation systems that incorporate value-added measures. We focus on four: (1) taking into account measurement error in teacher assessments, (2) revising teachers’ scores as more information becomes available about their students, and (3) and (4) minimizing opportunistic behavior by teachers during roster verification and the supervision of exams.

Team Pay for Performance Experimental Evidence From the Round Rock Pilot Project on Team Incentives

Education policymakers have shown increased interest in incentive programs for teachers based on the outcomes of their students. This article examines a program in which bonuses were awarded to teams of middle school teachers based on their collective contribution to student test score gains. The study employs a randomized controlled trial to examine effects of the bonus program over the course of an academic year, with the experiment repeated a second year, and finds no significant effects on the achievement of students or the attitudes and practices of teachers. The lack of effects of team-level pay for performance in this study is consistent with other recent experiments studying the short-term effects of bonus awards for individual performance or whole-school performance.

The Impact of School Finance Litigation on Resource Distribution: A Comparison of Court-Mandated Equity and Adequacy Reforms.

While there is a wealth of research on school finance equity and adequacy, and school finance theory clearly documents differences between the two concepts, no study has examined whether the reforms engendered by each approach actually differ in terms of resource distribution. The present study examines the issues using district‐level data on expenditure by function from two, large national data‐sets: the US Census of Governments School System Finance File F‐33 (1972–2002) and the National Center for Education Statistics’ Longitudinal School District Fiscal–Nonfiscal File (1990–2000). A difference‐in‐differences estimator with state and year fixed effects indicates that both court‐mandated equity and adequacy reforms decrease resource inequities. However, estimates based on data from the F‐33 file show negligible differences between equity and adequacy reforms, while estimates based on data from the Fiscal–Nonfiscal File indicate adequacy reform does not decrease horizontal inequities as much as court‐mandated equity reform. To explore these contradictory findings, we implement a two‐stage regression approach that examines whether court‐mandated adequacy reform is associated with a state funding mechanism accounting for certain educational needs of students. Court‐mandated adequacy reform does not result in the allocation of additional resources to low‐income districts when compared with states under court‐mandated equity reform. We conclude that, contrary to school finance theory, resource distribution patterns following court‐mandated equity and adequacy reforms are not statistically different.

Credentials Versus Performance: Review of the Teacher Performance Pay Research

In this article we examine the economic case for merit or performance-based pay for K–12 teachers. We review several areas of germane research. The direct evaluation literature on these incentive plans is slender; highly diverse in terms of methodology, targeted populations, and programs evaluated; and primarily focused on short-run motivational effects. It is nonetheless fairly consistent in finding positive program effects. The general personnel literature highlights potentially significant selection effects of employee compensation systems. This is particularly relevant for teaching, because a growing body of production function research points to large, persistent, but idiosyncratic differences in teacher productivity. Thus, along with motivation effects, there is potential for substantial positive long run selection effects from teacher performance pay systems. The evaluation literature is not sufficiently robust to prescribe how systems should be designed (e.g., optimal size of bonuses, mix of individual vs. group incentives). However, it is sufficiently positive to support much more extensive field trials, pilot programs, and policy experiments, combined with careful follow-up evaluation.

Teacher Pay for Performance: Context, Status, and Direction.

Pay for performance is poised to become more reality than simple rhetoric, but much work must be done to ensure these programs are effective.

Early Grade Teacher Effectiveness and Pre-K Effect Persistence

In recent years, states have significantly expanded access to prekindergarten (pre-K), and federal policy makers have proposed funding near-universal access across the country. However, researchers know relatively little about the role of subsequent experiences in prolonging or truncating the persistence of benefits for participants. This study examines the interaction between pre-K participation and one of our most important educational interventions—teaching quality. We pair student-level data from a statewide pre-K experiment with records of teacher observation scores from Tennessee’s new formal evaluation program to assess whether a student’s access to high-quality early grade teachers moderates the persistence of pre-K effects. Our analyses indicate a small positive interaction between teaching quality and state pre-K exposure on some but not all early elementary cognitive measures, such that better teaching quality in years subsequent to pre-K is associated with more persistent positive pre-K effects.

Effective Teacher Retention Bonuses Evidence From Tennessee

We report findings from a quasi-experimental evaluation of the recently implemented US

Has NCLB Encouraged Educational Triage? Accountability and the Distribution of Achievement Gains

5,000 retention bonus program for effective teachers in Tennessee’s Priority Schools. We estimate the impact of the program on teacher retention using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design by exploiting a discontinuity in the probability of treatment conditional on the composite teacher effectiveness rating that assigns bonus eligibility. Point estimates for the main effect of the bonus are not different from zero. However, for teachers of tested subjects and grades, the program has a consistently positive effect that is both statistically and substantively significant. We hypothesize that the null finding for the main effect is driven by teachers of untested subjects and grades given the amount of weight Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system attributes to school-level performance. This creates a strong incentive to exit the Priority Schools that are by definition low performing. Implementation concerns, including the timing of application process and observed noncompliance in bonus distribution, present obstacles for both the program’s effectiveness and its evaluation.

A New Defendant at the Table: An Overview of Missouri School Finance and Recent Litigation

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been criticized for encouraging schools to neglect students whose performance exceeds the proficiency threshold or lies so far below it that there is no reasonable prospect of closing the gap during the current year. We examine this hypothesis using longitudinal data from 2002–03 through 2005–06. Our identification strategy relies on the fact that as NCLB was phased in, states had some latitude in designating which grades were to count for purposes of a school making adequate yearly progress. We compare the mathematics achievement distribution in a grade before and after it became a high-stakes grade. We find in general no evidence that gains were concentrated on students near the proficiency standard at the expense of students scoring much lower, though there are inconsistent signs of a trade-off with students at the upper end of the distribution.

The Impact of Performance Ratings on Job Satisfaction for Public School Teachers.

Like many other states, Missouri has gone through several rounds of school finance litigation. However, the trial just concluded was unusual in two respects. First, three taxpayers were allowed to intervene for the defense and, in the process, raise important questions concerning the efficiency of school spending and broader questions of school reform. Second, the outcome at the circuit court level, which focused nearly entirely on points of law, was a complete victory for the defense. This article provides an overview of disputes of Missouri school finance and evidence pertaining to some of the points in dispute at the trial. These lessons generalize to other states facing school finance litigation. The authors conclude that changes in school funding formulas, and the seemingly interminable litigation about those formulas, are not an effective vehicle for addressing achievement gaps or the overall level of school performance.