New Study on the Long-Term Impacts of Teachers by Harvard Professors Raj Chetty and John Friedman Wins Wide Acclaim

Harvard University economists Raj Chetty and John Friedman and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia University recently released a paper entitled “The Long-Term Impacts of Teachers: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood.” Tracking one million students from elementary school to adulthood, the authors find that high “value-added” teachers -- teachers who systematically raise their students' test scores -- improve their students' earnings, reduce teenage pregnancy rates, and increase college attendance rates.  The study received widespread attention in the media, including a New York Times front-page story in early January 2012, a New York Times opinion column by writer Nicolas Kristof, and a PBS Newshour interview. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg cited the study in his 2012 State of the City Address, as did President Barack Obama in his 2012 State of the Union Address in his remarks on improving education in the U.S.

Big Study Links Good Teachers to Lasting Gain by Annie Lowrey in The New York Times, January 6, 2012

The Value of Teachers by Nicholas D. Kristof in The New York Times, January 11, 2012

New Study Gauges Teachers Impact on Students' Lifetime Earnings interview with Raj Chetty on PBS Newshour, January 6, 2012

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2012 State of the City Address on Jan. 6, 2012 (text)

President Barack Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address on Jan. 24, 2012 (text) (video)

Working paper: The Long-Term Impacts of Teachers: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood, December 2011 (executive summary)

Professor Raj Chetty’s faculty web page

Professor John Friedman’s faculty web page at the Kennedy School of Governement