Do Value-Added Estimates Add Value? Accounting for Learning Dynamics

Tahir Andrabi, Jishnu Das, Asim Khwaja and Tristan Zajonc
Additional contact information
Tristan Zajonc: Harvard University

Working Paper Series from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government

Abstract: Evaluations of educational programs commonly assume that what children learn persists over time. The authors compare learning in Pakistani public and private schools using dynamic panel methods that account for three key empirical challenges to widely used value-added models: imperfect persistence, unobserved student heterogeneity, and measurement error. Their estimates suggest that only a fifth to a half of learning persists between grades and that private schools increase average achievement by 0.25 standard deviations each year. In contrast, estimates from commonly used value-added models significantly understate the impact of private schools' on student achievement and/or overstate persistence. These results have implications for program evaluation and value-added accountability system design.

Date: 2009-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-ure
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (40)

Downloads: (external link)
https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/work ... ?PubId=6872&type=WPN

Related works:
Journal Article: Do Value-Added Estimates Add Value? Accounting for Learning Dynamics (2011)
Working Paper: Do Value-Added Estimates Add Value? Accounting for Learning Dynamics (2009)
Working Paper: Do value-added estimates add value ? accounting for learning dynamics (2009)
Working Paper: Do Value-Added Estimates Add Value? Accounting for Learning Dynamics (2008)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp09-034

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Paper Series from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().