Information and Employee Evaluation: Evidence from a Randomized Intervention in Public Schools

55 Pages Posted: 24 Aug 2011

See all articles by Jonah E. Rockoff

Jonah E. Rockoff

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Douglas Staiger

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Thomas J. Kane

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Eric S. Taylor

Stanford University

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: February 1, 2011

Abstract

Considerable theory regarding how employers learn about worker productivity remains untested. Examining the provision of objective estimates of teacher performance to school principals, we establish several facts supporting a simple Bayesian learning model with imperfect information. First, the correlation between performance estimates and prior beliefs rises with more precise objective estimates and more precise subjective priors. Second, new information exerts greater influence on posterior beliefs when it is more precise and when priors are less precise. Employer learning also affects job separation and productivity in schools, increasing turnover for teachers with low performance estimates and producing small test score improvements.

Suggested Citation

Rockoff, Jonah E. and Staiger, Douglas and Kane, Thomas J. and Taylor, Eric S., Information and Employee Evaluation: Evidence from a Randomized Intervention in Public Schools (February 1, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1915374 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1915374

Jonah E. Rockoff (Contact Author)

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Douglas Staiger

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics ( email )

Hanover, NH 03755
United States
603-643-2979 (Phone)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Thomas J. Kane

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Eric S. Taylor

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
66
Abstract Views
2,018
Rank
436,891
PlumX Metrics