Identifies aspects of reference services amenable to evaluation, discusses the need for measures of service quality as well as quantity, presents modifications of current measures that meet this need, and stresses the importance of linking performance measures to library planning. (CLB)

This study investigates the income-cost effects resulting from public and private higher education expenditures in Japan. Economic returns are presented according to sex, public or private sector, and areas of study, and the method of government expenditure on education in Japan is evaluated. (TE)

Support for public education wavers in a number of states due to a lack of evidence indicating that increased funding is associated with increases in output. Maintaining and increasing this support, however, is critical for rural communities as they seek to strengthen their human capital base as a strategy for economic growth and development. The…

Five performance measures suggested for use in public libraries are discussed in relation to corporate information centers: corporate awareness of library services; clients as percentage of jurisdiction population; reference transactions per capita; reference fill rate; timeliness of information delivery. Planning and survey questionnaires for…

Based on pupil-specific observation data drawn from a sample of 13 fifth-grade math classrooms, this article reports efforts to develop and test an economic model of the allocation of teacher resources within classrooms. Tables provide data on teacher attention and resources. (PB)

Discusses and compares advantages and disadvantages of large and small computer-based instructional systems. Predicted and actual costs in two systems--PLATO, which uses a mainframe system, and VITAL, a microcomputer-based system--are analyzed, and cost comparisons are made based on class size. (LRW)

Describes current status of library school technological support systems and determines effectiveness of various laboratory configurations by assessing relationship of selected input variables to following output measures: number of courses requiring laboratory use, number of database systems available, a service index, and an equipment…

This study investigated the resource allocation process--how school administrators obtain the proper resources to operate their schools, distribute the available resources among the various school programs appropriately, and manage resources for effective educational results--in four high schools during the 1984-85 school year. Information was…

Measures of school achievement over a 4 year lag period in Virginia's 95 school districts were used to investigate the relationship of investment in education to student achievement since variations in spending among counties would have four years to affect student achievement levels. Because educational output is a function of selected…

A research project that developed methods for describing, organizing, analyzing, and predicting state education policy activity had as its major focus the way that values affect that policy. Data were drawn from six states: Wisconsin, Illinois, California, Arizona, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. They were chosen to represent ranges of political…

This paper presents a complex, hybrid, method of cost analysis of online courses, which incorporates data on expenditures; student/course enrollment; departmental consumption/contribution; space utilization/opportunity costs; direct non-personnel costs; computing support; faculty/staff workload; administrative overhead at the department, dean, and…

Education in general and specific educational projects fit into the construct of the allocation of investment resources that is basic to economic theory. Two techniques of computing returns to education and education projects are benefit-cost ratios and rates of return, which both rely on measuring costs and benefits. While measuring costs is…