Cátedra Santander en Eficiencia y Productividad

­­­Título: «Differences in teachers’ efficiency: evidence for Spain»

Ponente: Gabriela Sicilia (UAM)

Fecha: 07/06/2017, 12:00h

Lugar: Sala de seminarios, Edificio Torretamarit, Universidad Miguel Hernández (Campus de Elche)

Abstract:

This research contributes to the ongoing debate about differences in teachers’ performance. We introduce a new methodology that combine production frontier and impact evaluation insights that allows using DEA as an identification strategy of a treatment with high and low quality teachers within schools to assess their performance. We use a unique database in Spain that supplies information on two classrooms at 4th grade in primary education, where students and teachers were randomly assigned into the two classrooms at each school. We find considerable differences in teachers’ efficiency across schools and also significant effects on students’ achievement. In line with previous findings, we find that neither teacher experience nor academic training explains teachers’ efficiency. Conversely, being a female teacher, having worked five or more years in the same school, repeating a second year with the same group or having smaller class sizes positively affects the efficiency of teachers.