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

2. 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

3. 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

4. Quality Measurement  Salary and cognitive tests have fallen

6. 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*

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

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

9. Considerable Movement of Teachers  Lots of school changing

10. Teacher Experience Stay Change school Change district Quit 0-2 yr73.67.59.39.5 3-5 yr77.77.26.68.5 Annual Percentage Movements Texas Teachers

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

12. Change in Salary and Student Characteristics: District Switchers Men 0-2 yr Women 0-2 yr Salary (log)0.0120.007 Test score0.050.08 % Hispanic-4.8 % Black-0.07-2.6 % subsidized lunch-4.7-7.0

14. Panel Estimators of Teacher Quality

15. Average Quality Differences (compared to stayers) Compared to district Compared to school Change campus -0.089-0.054 Change district -0.011-0.023 Quit -0.044-0.072

17. 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

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

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