The author defends his conceptualization of a cost of education index against criticisms made in the preceding article. The defense focuses on the availability of teachers and the impact of this availability on education costs. (IRT)

Outlines one approach for assessing and measuring the differences in the costs of education services and reports the results of an application of this approach to data for the state of California. (Author/IRT)

This paper outlines an approach for adjusting state aid for differences in educational costs. The approach focuses on determinants of the variation in the prices of school inputs such as cost of heating fuel, ability of the area to attract teachers, and needs for student transportation. The system attempts to isolate that component of the…

Present systems for the apportionment of grants from the state or federal level to local public school districts are based primarily on measures of district wealth as modified by weightings for the characteristics of the student population. Until recently little attention has been given to differences among districts in the costs of providing…

This paper provides a clarification of two factors--the differences in pupil need (as reflected by the proportion of disadvantaged or handicapped pupils in a district) and the differences in the prices of school inputs across districts--that affects the cost of educational services and a conceptual framework that may be useful in making welfare…

This report presents both a methodology for educational cost index computation and empirical evidence for determining the extent to which Missouri school district expenditures are beyond the control of local decision-makers. The author demonstrates considerable stability in the teachers' salary index from 1974-75 to 1975-76. The report extends…

Researchers construct a cost of education index and, using Missouri data, estimate differences across school districts in the cost of teachers, administrators, and transportation services. Components of the conceptual framework for the index include salaries, variables within a district's control (such as personnel characteristics or the number of…

Based on estimates of differences in costs for school personnel and transportation in Missouri school districts, a cost-of-education index is computed, patterns of cost variation examined, and the impact of state aid allocations determined. Some conclusions are drawn as to implementing a cost index as part of school finance policy. (MF)

Outlines a model to aid in the empirical estimation and interpretation of the patterns of variation in school personnel salaries across school districts and shows how this analysis could be used to develop indexes of personnel costs. (Author/JM)

This booklet is divided into five sections. The first discusses the differences between education costs and education expenditures and the alternative ways that education costs can be measured. The second section shows how economic analysis can be used to isolate and measure the factors that cause differences in education costs. Section three…