Teacher Performance Pay and Student Learning: Evidence from a Nationwide Program in Peru

Cristina Bellés Obrero () and Maria Lombardi
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Cristina Bellés Obrero: Barcelona Institute of Economics
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Cristina Bellés-Obrero

No 12600, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study the impact on student achievement of a nationwide teacher pay-for-performance program implemented in Peruvian public secondary schools in 2015. Schools compete in a tournament primarily based on 8th graders' performance in a standardized test, where the principal and teachers of the top 20 percent of schools receive a substantial bonus. We perform a difference-in-differences estimation comparing the internal grades of 8th and 9th graders of the same school, before and after the program. We find a precisely estimated zero effect on student achievement, and we reject impacts greater than 0.017 standard deviations, well below those previously found in the literature. We provide evidence against a series of potential explanations, and argue that this zero effect could be a consequence of teachers' uncertainty about how to improve their students' performance in the standardized test tied to the bonus.

Keywords: education; teachers; incentives; compensation; Peru (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J4 M52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59 pages
Date: 2019-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-hrm, nep-lma and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - published in: Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2022, 70 (4), 1631–1669

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Related works:
Journal Article: Teacher Performance Pay and Student Learning: Evidence from a Nationwide Program in Peru (2022)
Working Paper: Teacher Performance Pay and Student Learning: Evidence From a Nationwide Program in Peru (2019)
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