Teacher Value-Added and Gender Gaps in Educational Outcomes

Abstract

This paper uses rich administrative data from Chile to estimate teacher-value added on test scores and on an educational attainment index. We allow each teacher to have a different TVA for male and female students, and show that differences in TVA explain an important part of the gender gaps we observe on test scores and on postsecondary education trajectories. We next exploit rich information on teaching practices and show that there are no important differences on what makes teachers effective for male and female students. We do find, however, significant associations that suggest that certain practices benefit students independently of their gender.
Finally, we also find that female teachers are on average more effective at teaching female students, and that math teachers tend to be biased in favor of male students.