Second Time’s the Charm? How Repeat Student-Teacher Matches Build Academic and Behavioral Skills
Abstract:
We examine the dynamic nature of student-teacher match quality by studying the eect of having a teacher for more than one year. Using state-wide data from Tennessee and panel methods, we nd that having a repeat teacher improves achievement and decreases absences, truancy, and suspensions. These results are robust to a range of tests for teacher and student sorting. White girls benet most academically from repeat teachers and boys of color benet most behaviorally. Effects increase with the share of repeat students in a teachers class suggesting that intentional classroom assignments policies such as looping may have even larger benets.
Citation:
Wedenoja L, Papay JP, Kraft MA. Second Time's the Charm? How Repeat Student-Teacher Matches Build Academic and Behavioral Skills. Working Paper.