Developmental education is often criticized for its expense. Some believe that it represents a failure of secondary education and is, therefore, a redundant expense. Others believe that developmental education serves a vital role in preparing students for college and is, therefore, a necessary expense. This article provides a review of the…

Those with the burden of financing public education are looking toward product measurement for guidance in planning and modifying programs and in justifying expenditures to taxpayers. "Outcomes orientation" is rooted in program budgeting theory with emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and input-output relationships that can be demonstrated and…

This publication is a discussion of the concept of an educational production function, a mathematical formulation of the relationship between inputs and outputs in education. A description of how a production function can direct decision making toward economic efficiency precedes a theoretical discussion of the nature of actual estimation. Several…

Discusses issues that arise when conducting costs analyses for child language-disorder treatments. Clinicians are urged to recognize the importance of cost-effectiveness studies to maintain control over the integrity of the studies and ensure that responsible decisions are made regarding the development and use of treatments and technologies.…

The least understood of complex systems is that which produces educated people. Superficially, many key elements of a manufacturing organization are part of the system: a product, product tolerance limits, methods for assessing product deviation, and a feed-back system for making compensatory adjustments. In layman's terms these elements are:…

Production function applications to improve the efficiency of educational programs require identification of inputs and outputs and the establishment of a data bank to provide information on input and output variables. This generalizable input identification model organizes inputs for systems analysis at various levels of inputs and provides a…

This document is one of five manuals designed to improve management practices in Ohio two-year colleges. Chapter I is introductory and discusses the role of program budgeting in higher education, its objectives, management, and development. Chapter II presents the steps to be taken in developing a program budget--identifying goals and objectives,…

This report explores some techniques that could assist educational managers in their attempts to arrive at more optimal input and output mixes. Following a review of the literature on input-output analyses in education and a description of the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment Program (the basis of the present study), an empirical…

The edited presentations of the Accountability Through Evaluation Institute are given to provide insight into some problems and solutions regarding educational accountability. Presentations include "Educational Accountability" (Lee E. Wickline); "A Scheme for Evaluation" (Robert Armstrong, Terry D. Cornell, Robert Kraner, and…

This monograph summarizes and evaluates "educational production function analyses"--studies of the relation between inputs and outputs in an education system--in order to aid in educational manpower policy making. In addition, data from New York state school districts and from a large national sample of high school students is subjected to…

The United States currently spends a good deal more on education per student than most industrialized nations, yet testing shows that achievement has not kept pace with spending. Nevertheless, school administrators continue to press for greater federal spending and claim that reforms cannot be implemented otherwise.

Program budgeting is described as a means of enabling higher education to respond effectively to three major accountability concerns. They are (1) the long-term financial implications of a particular programmatic or policy decision, (2) determination of what is being paid for, and (3) understanding that the price being paid for a program is…