This paper draws on the matched panel data of the UTD Texas School Project to investigate how shifts in salary schedules affect the composition of teachers within a district. When trying to estimate the true relationship between teacher quality and salaries, four methodological problems typically intervene: measuring teacher quality;…

Most students change schools at some point in their academic careers, but some change very frequently, and some schools experience a great deal of turnover. Many researchers, teachers, and administrators argue that mobility harms students, particularly disadvantaged students in high turnover, inner city schools. However, economists emphasize the…

Suburban schools are generally of higher quality than the inner city schools that continue to serve a disproportionate share of black children. This study provided significant evidence that school quality, measured by the mean test scores for individual grades/campuses, has a large impact on the achievement of individual students. The analysis…