The short- and long-term impact of teacher formal certification on students’ school outcomes: A propensity weighting approach

Establishing a causal link between teachers’ formal certification and students’ academic achievement presents persistent methodological challenges. Although several studies have reported positive associations, many have been limited by weak designs, while those employing more rigorous methods have yielded mixed or null findings (e.g., Pontoppidan et al., 2018). This study applied a propensity score weighting approach to examine whether teacher certification causally influences students’ PIRLS reading achievement in Grade 4 and school outcomes in Grade 6 and 9 in Sweden. Integrated PIRLS 2016 and national register data was used. The findings suggested that teacher certification has a substantial impact on both short- and long-term development of students’ school outcomes, where differences in knowledge and assessment practices between certified and uncertified teachers may play a crucial role.