The Effects of Race to the Top on Teacher Qualifications, Work Environments, and Job Attitudes

Abstract

We estimate the effects of Race to the Top (RTTT) on teacher qualifications, work environments, and job attitudes. Drawing on the Schools and Staffing Survey and the National Teacher and Principal Survey, we create a nationally representative data set of public school teachers from 1988 to 2018. We adopt an event study difference-in-differences research design to estimate the dynamic effect of RTTT on several teacher outcomes. We find evidence that, following RTTT, teachers were more worried about job security relative to prereform years. We find smaller and less consistent evidence of a relationship between RTTT and decreased teacher certification levels and increased levels of cooperation with colleagues.