Teacher Incentives and Student Achievement: Evidence from New York City Public Schools

Use a mirror    (1270 K)

Roland G. Fryer NBER Working Paper No. 16850 Issued in March 2011 NBER Program(s):   ED   LS Financial incentives for teachers to increase student performance is an increasingly popular education policy around the world. This paper describes a school-based randomized trial in over two-hundred New York City public schools designed to better understand the impact of teacher incentives on student achievement. I find no evidence that teacher incentives increase student performance, attendance, or graduation, nor do I find any evidence that the incentives change student or teacher behavior. If anything, teacher incentives may decrease student achievement, especially in larger schools. The paper concludes with a speculative discussion of theories that may explain these stark results. This paper is available as PDF (1270 K) or via email.