Policymakers and professional educators attempt to be good stewards of public funds while simultaneously raising expectations for student outcomes that reflect academic excellence in the public school system. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficiency of Texas public school districts and the factors influencing the inefficiency of…

In light of the emergence of statistical analysis techniques based on data mining in education sciences, and the potential they offer to detect non-trivial information in large databases, this paper presents a procedure used to detect factors linked to academic achievement in large-scale assessments. The study is based on a non-experimental,…

A model of cost-effectiveness is outlined which enables consideration of some non-financial, as well as financial, elements of educational systems at school or district levels. The model enables the decision-maker to compare educational outcomes of different units, to assess the impact of alternative levels of financial input, and to select…

This is a summary of a report which presents three models quantifying the relationships between educational means (resources) and ends (pupil achievements) to analyze resource allocation problems within school districts: (1) the Pupil Performance Model; (2) the Goal Programming Model; and (3) the Operational Structure of a School and Pupil…

This report details three models quantifying the relationships between educational means (resources) and ends (pupil achievements) to analyze resource allocation problems within school districts: (1) the Pupil Performance Model; (2) the Goal Programming Model; and (3) the Operational Structure of a School and Pupil Performance Model. These models…

This paper describes informally a comprehensive systems model that could aid school program decision makers. The model, a multistage input-output scheme, permits descriptions of social, political, economic, and educational interactions in an urban school system for the purpose of defining the school system performance and its amenability to change…

Eighth grade students, randomly assigned to three criterion performance levels, studied matrix algebra in three programed lessons. Student achievement, ability, time spent, and other measures were obtained; and minimal variance criterion performance levels, analogous to production isoquants, were attained. A Cobb-Douglas (log-linear) function was…