Traditional teacher evaluation systems have come under scrutiny for not identifying, supporting, and, if necessary, removing low-performing teachers from the classroom. Leveraging the experimental roll-out of a pilot evaluation system in Chicago, we find that, while there was no main effect of the pilot on teacher exit, the pilot system increased exit for low-rated and nontenured teachers. Furthermore, teachers who exited were lower performing than those who stayed and those who replaced them. These findings suggest that reformed evaluation systems can induce low-performing teachers to exit schools and may also improve the overall quality of the teacher labor force.
This article was published in the Journal of Human Resources. Copyright 2016 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.