Question

Explain why economists like to use performance in follow-on courses to measure professor quality as opposed to performance in the student's current courses.

Answer 1

Conventional wisdom holds that “higher quality” teachers promote better educational outcomes. However, if a teacher's performance is measured through performance in the student's current courses, teachers can influence their performance parameters in ways that may reduce actual student learning. Teachers can “teach to the test.” Professors can inflate grades or reduce academic content to elevate student evaluations. Given this, to get a real picture of how these measures correlate with the desired outcome of actual student learning, economists like to use performance in follow-on courses to measure professor quality as opposed to performance in the student's current courses.

It has been noticed during various studies that less-experienced and less-qualified professors produce students who perform significantly better in the contemporaneous course being taught, while more-experienced and highly qualified professors produce students who perform better in the follow-on related curriculum. Less-experienced professors may teach more strictly to the regimented curriculum being tested, while the more experienced professors broaden the curriculum and produce students with a deeper understanding of the material. This deeper understanding results in better achievement in the follow-on courses.