Does Teacher Training Affect Pupil Learning? Evidence from Matched Comparisons in Jerusalem Public Schools

Abstract

Most research on the relationship between teacher characteristics and pupil achievement focuses on salaries, experience, and education. The effect of in-service training has received less attention. We estimate the effect of in-service teacher training on achievements in Jerusalem elementary schools using a matched-comparison design. Differences-in-differences, regression, and matching estimates suggest training in secular schools lead to an improvement in test scores. The estimates for religious schools are not clear-cut, perhaps because training religious schools started later and was implemented on a smaller scale. Estimates for secular schools suggest teacher training provided a cost-effective means of increasing test scores. Copyright 2001 by University of Chicago Press.