Performance Pay and Teachers' Effort, Productivity, and Grading Ethics

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2009
Volume: 99
Issue: 5
Pages: 1979-2011

Score contribution per author:

8.043 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper presents evidence about the effect of individual monetary incentives on English and math teachers in Israel. Teachers were rewarded with cash bonuses for improving their students' performance in high-school matriculation exams. The main identification strategy is based on measurement error in the assignment to treatment variable that produced a randomized treatment sample. The incentives led to significant improvements in test taking rates, conditional pass rates, and mean test scores. Improvements were mediated through changes in teaching methods, enhanced after-school teaching, and increased responsiveness to students' needs. No evidence was found of manipulation of test scores by teachers. (JEL I21, J31, J45)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:99:y:2009:i:5:p:1979-2011
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25