In this paper we analyze the impact of classroom peers on individual student performance with a unique longitudinal data set covering all Florida public school students in grades 3-10 over a five-year period. Unlike many previous data sets used to study peer effects in education, our data set...

In this paper I use a rich longitudinal data base from Florida to compare the characteristics of alternatively certified teachers with their traditionally prepared colleagues. I then analyze the relative effectiveness of teachers who enter the profession through different pathways by estimating...

Using matched student-teacher panel data from the state of Florida, we study the determinants of teacher job change and the impact of such mobility on the distribution of teacher quality. We find that the quality of teachers who exit teaching is bimodal with peer teacher characteristics playing...

Using student-level microdata from 2000-2001 to 2004-2005 from Florida and North Carolina, we compare the effectiveness of teachers in schools serving primarily students from low-income families (70% free-and-reduced-price-lunch students) with teachers in schools serving more advantaged...

Since their inception in 1992, the number of charter schools has grown to more than 6,000 in 40 states, serving more than 2 million students. Various studies have examined charter schools’ impacts on test scores, and a few have begun to examine longer-term outcomes including graduation and...

Teacher turnover has adverse consequences for student achievement and imposes large financial costs for schools. Some have argued that high-stakes testing may lower teachers’ satisfaction with their jobs and could be a major contributor to teacher attrition. In this paper, we exploit changes...

We examine the measurement and prediction of worker productivity using a sample of teachers and school principals. We find that principals' evaluations are positively associated with teachers' estimated contributions to students' test scores (value-added), and are better predictors of teacher...

This paper presents the first causal evidence on the effects of school accountability systems on teacher labor markets. We exploit a 2002 change in Florida's school accountability system that exogenously shocked some schools to higher accountability grades and others to lower accountability...

Teacher turnover has adverse consequences for student achievement and imposes large financial costs for schools. Some have argued that high-stakes testing may lower teachers’ satisfaction with their jobs and could be a major contributor to teacher attrition. In this paper, we exploit changes...