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In this paper we discuss results from an analysis of a large dataset that includes virtually all sixth-grade students in Uruguay in 1996. We analyze the relationship between teacher attributes and student achievement scores and we explore the distribution of teachers according to characteristics identified as important by this analysis. We find that teachers with “important” attributes are distributed in a way that systematically favors schools with higher average achievement and socioeconomic context. Policy-related factors that may explain these patterns include Uruguay's system of teacher compensation, teachers’ working conditions, the level and locus of educational decision making in Uruguay, and teacher recruitment and assignment policies. The results are particularly interesting because Uruguay is a relatively equal society in Latin American terms, so the unequal distribution of teacher attributes is probably more accentuated in other Latin American societies.
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