There are few policy questions to which improving the quality of education is not a reasonable answer. Yet assessing teachers is far from straightforward. Pupils’ grades or test scores may reflect any of a host of influences, not just the standard of instruction. Neither can one take for granted that good teaching, however it is measured, will translate into better lives for its recipients. In two new working papers , Raj Chetty and John Friedman of Harvard University and Jonah Rockoff of Columbia University deploy some statistical wizardry to tease out the value of teaching (see sources below). Good teachers, they find, are worth their weight in gold.

Continued at: Knowledge for Earnings’ Sake

Reference

The Economist (2013) Knowledge for Earnings’ Sake. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21587784-good-teachers-have-surprisingly-big-impact-their-pupils-future. [Accessed: 03 February, 2014].