Brian Jacob|Jesse Rothstein
The Measurement of Student Ability in Modern Assessment Systems
National Bureau of Economic Research|University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|National Bureau of Economic Research|University of California, Berkeley
journal economic perspectivesvolume 30 number 3summer 2016pages 85108 measurement student ability modern assessment systems brian jacob jesse rothstein e conomists often use test scores measure students performance adults human capital research literature economics educa tion student test scores often used estimate teacher effectiveness valueadded example chetty et al 2014a measure attempt explain blackwhite achievement gap example fryer levitt 2004 2006 2013 rothstein wozny 2013 measure impacts state districtlevel educational policy choices finance accountability rules example dee jacob 2011 lafortune rothstein schanzenbach 2016 broader labor economics literature test scores often used well proxies human capital example examining blackwhite wage gap conditional cogni tive ability neal johnson 1996 experience many researchers think individuals score noisy unbiased measure true ability like example simple fraction test items student answers correctly unfortunately student achievement measures provided modern assessment systems rarelyif everso straightforward assessments commonly multiple forms often adaptive meaning questions students receive based performance previous brian jacob walter h annenberg professor education policy professor economics professor education university michigan ann arbor michigan jesse roth stein professor public policy economics director institute research labor employment irle university california berkeley california authors research associates national bureau economic research cambridge massa chusetts email addresses bajacobumichedu rothsteinberkeleyedu supplementary materials appendices datasets author disclosure statements see article page httpdxdoiorg101257jep30385 doi101257jep30385