Initial estimates of teacher value-added in English primary schools

A sizeable literature investigating teacher test score value-added-the extent to which pupils make different rates of progress under different teachers-has emerged in the United States. While there is much interest in estimating teacher value-added in other countries such as England, progress has been limited by the lack of datasets linking teachers and pupils. We overcome this issue by drawing on internal assessment data from primary schools across two multi-academy trusts. Our results suggest that a substantial proportion of the progress primary pupils make in reading and mathematics occurs across (rather than within) the teachers to which they are assigned. There is, however, no clear evidence of teacher effects on attendance. Similar results are obtained using different model specifications and approaches. The paper concludes by clearly outlining some of the remaining challenges with estimating teacher value-added in England's primary schools, and the next steps that should be prioritised in this line of research.