Title

Does Teacher Testing Raise Teacher Quality? Evidence from State Certification Requirements

Author(s)

Joshua D. Angrist Joshua Angrist (MIT and NBER )

Jonathan Guryan Jonathan Guryan (University of Chicago and NBER )

Abstract

Most US states require public school teachers to pass a standardized test for licensure. Although any such entry barrier is likely to raise wages, the theoretical effects on teacher quality are ambiguous. Testing places a floor on measured skills, but imposes costs, which may especially deter high-quality applicants. Moreover, testing may disqualify applicants that schools would otherwise hire. Estimates using Schools and Staffing Survey data suggest state-mandated testing is associated with increases in teacher wages, though we find no evidence of a corresponding increase in quality as measured by educational background. Testing also appears to reduce the fraction of new teachers who are Hispanic.

Creation Date

2007-05

Section URL ID

Paper Number

21

URL

https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01v979v310x/4/21ers.pdf

File Function

Jel

I21, J24, J44

Keyword(s)

Suppress

false

Series

2