This paper compares two functionally different approaches to analyzing standardized test data: least-squares based value-added analysis, geared principally to supporting teacher and school accountability; and Betebenner’s (2009) student growth percentiles, which focuses primarily on tracking...

This paper analyzes the combined effect of school entry-age increase and the introduction of preparatory year (pre-school) on educational achievement using a difference-in-difference specification. Achievement is assessed using the score on national standardized tests across a range of subjects....

This study finds that approaching 10% of the variation in high school student achievement is explained by teacher effects in Australia. It uses data from the 2011 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) sample of Australian Year 8 students to estimate achievement in mathematics and...

Recent studies in Economics have found that the idiosyncratic effect of school leaders may be an important factor in improving student outcomes. The specific channels through which principals affect schools are, with minor exceptions, still largely unexplored in this literature. Employing a...