The Effects of Performance-Based Teacher Pay on Student Achievement

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SIEPR Discussion Paper 09-023

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Published:

07/30/10

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Abstract:

I evaluate the effects on student achievement of the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), a school-level intervention that offers teachers professional development resources and performance-based compensation. Because TAP typically targets low-performing schools, assignment to the intervention is nonrandom. I use synthetic control matching methods to identify appropriate comparison units. I then use a difference-in-differences model to estimate the effects of TAP on state achievement exam scores in reading and mathematics. I find that students in TAP schools outperform students in comparison schools by roughly 0.15 standard deviations in mathematics. I find smaller and less precisely estimated effects on reading achievement.

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