The annual budgeting process is a valuable opportunity for districts to systematically examine both resource use and programming. They can then use the findings to optimize resource use and improve program efficacy in ways that will lead to increased student achievement. Bo Yan and Thomas Aberli discuss three root causes for districts' inability…

Cost-income studies are designed to serve two functions in instructional program evaluation. First, they act as the indicator of the economic value of a program. This economic value in conjunction with the other educational values needed in program evaluation allow for the most realistic appraisal of program worth. Second, if the studies show a…

Data from two studies on evaluation budgeting practices are presented. In the first study, estimated budget figures are provided for formative and summative evaluations by 29 state education agency evaluators. In the second study, initial budget figures, final costs, and study characteristics are abstracted from the records of 85 evaluations…

In May 1987, the Legislative Audit Commission for the State of Minnesota directed the Program Evaluation Division to examine noninstructional expenditures for elementary and secondary education. This report, the first of two, focuses on two questions: (1) Has the commitment of resources in Minnesota to instructional activities declined relative to…

Investigating the costs of instructional media systems necessitated that those systems be identified and analyzed, and that a methodology be formulated for estimating their costs, with reference to their area of operation: local, city, metropolitan, state, or regional school areas. Costs are broken down into cost per student per year, according to…