This paper employs a stochastic production frontier model to assess the efficiency of the senior secondary schools in the Gambia. It examines their efficiency in using and mixing the educational inputs of average teacher salary, average teacher education, average teacher experience and students-to-teacher ratio in producing the number of students…

There is growing interest in leveraging Title IV student aid to improve college completion. Advocates have proposed linking funding in the Pell and Campus-Based Programs to measures of college performance. However, to do so in an equitable and efficient manner, raw measures of college output, such as rates of graduation and academic progress, must…

This study aimed to identify the classroom and school characteristics that are associated with student achievement in mathematics and Serbian language in primary schools in Serbia. The study sample consisted of 119 public primary schools, 253 classrooms, and 4,857 third-grade students. Variables from 3 past research paradigms--input-output,…

Charter schools are "autonomous, publicly funded entities that operate on the basis of a contract between the individual and/or group (e.g., teachers, parents, others) which organizes the school and a sponsor (typically local or state education boards or districts)" (Lavine, 1994, p. 8). Charter schools are responsible to sponsors for their…

Teacher attitudes (inputs) and classroom practices (processes) were used to predict residual student achievement scores (outputs). A combination of three approaches were used to control for student background characteristics and isolate the effects of school variables: (1) a "residual" measure of achievement; (2) an…

Developing a comprehensive strategy for postsecondary education that will meet the needs of America's diverse population and help ensure our ability to compete in the global economy is vital to the growth of our nation. Key to improving performance of our colleges and universities is measuring that performance. In this paper, the authors assert…

Reading and mathematics achievement and student self-concept were studied in 28 IGE elementary schools (schools using the system of Individually Guided Education). The data comprised 134 variables--input variables (student characteristics, teacher background, and expenditures for instruction); process variables (teaching time and school…

Missouri requires the testing of all eighth grade students on their competence in reading and language arts, mathematics, and government and economics. This statewide assessment is referred to as the Missouri Basic Essential Skills Test (BEST) and has been given in the spring of each year since 1978. A study was undertaken to determine which…

This book presents the results of 15 years of input-output (I-O) research on schooling effectiveness. The I-O approach identifies and measures the inschool and out-of-school factors that contribute to schooling outcomes, especially reading skills and verbal and mathematics achievement. Five categories of inputs are reviewed in this textbook: (1)…