TY  - JOUR
AU  - Clotfelter,Charles T.
AU  - Ladd,Helen F.
AU  - Vigdor,Jacob L.
TI  - Teacher Credentials and Student Achievement in High School: A Cross-Subject Analysis with Student Fixed Effects
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 13617
PY  - 2007
Y2  - November 2007
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13617
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13617.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Charles T. Clotfelter
Sanford Institute of Public Policy
Duke University
Box 90245
Durham, NC 27708
Tel: 919/613-7361
E-Mail: charles.clotfelter@duke.edu

Helen Ladd
Sanford School of Public Policy
Box 90245  Duke University
Durham, NC 27708
Tel: 919-613-7352
Fax: 919-681-8288
E-Mail: hladd@duke.edu

Jacob L. Vigdor
Sanford School of Public Policy
Box 90245
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708
Tel: 919/613-9226
Fax: 919/681-8288
E-Mail: jacob.vigdor@duke.edu
AB  - We use data on statewide end-of-course tests in North Carolina to examine the relationship between teacher credentials and student achievement at the high school level.  The availability of test scores in multiple subjects for each student permits us to estimate a model with student fixed effects, which helps minimize any bias associated with the non-random distribution of teachers and students among classrooms within schools. We find compelling evidence that teacher credentials affect student achievement in systematic ways and that the magnitudes are large enough to be policy relevant.  As a result, the uneven distribution of teacher credentials by race and socio-economic status of high school students -- a pattern we also document -- contributes to achievement gaps in high school.
ER  -