The purpose of this study was to determine which of the input and output variables made a statistically significant difference in the efficiency status of undergraduate departments offering Health Management education in Turkey, to identify areas where inefficient departments could improve, and to determine which of the input and output variables…

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…

This paper applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to explore the relative efficiency of China's research universities of science and technology. According to the finding, when talent training is the only output, the efficiency of research universities of science and technology is far lower than that of…

The phrase "data-driven" has been used with increasing frequency in the college access and success field in recent years. However, as with many frequently used phrases, its importance can get lost or written off as a buzzword. Being data-driven revolves around decisions being shaped by information and evidence rather than hunches, gut…

In an ominously steady progression over the past decades, education in general, higher education in particular, and even honors education have increasingly been contextualized in the realm of the marketplace. Cost/benefit analyses of colleges and universities are examined; institutions in terms of their price to consumers (students and their…

Community colleges are under pressure to increase completion rates, prepare students for the workplace, and contain costs. Colleges need to know the financial implications of what are often perceived as routine decisions: course scheduling, program offerings, and the provision of support services. This chapter presents a methodology for estimating…

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,…

Teacher preparation programs (TPPs) are where prospective teachers gain a foundation of knowledge about pedagogy and subject matter, as well as early exposure to practical classroom experience. Although competence in teaching, as in all professions, is shaped significantly by on-the-job experiences and continuous learning, the programs that…

Discusses possible models for assessing the optionality of resource allocation in secondary education. Concludes that a suboptionalization model that requires the administrator to weigh the consequences of varying three inputs at most simultaneously offers a more promising tool for educational decisionmaking than the production function method.…

Educators have historically tried to limit the openness of the educational system by determining what factors from the society as a whole are allowed to influence decision-making. Other system components have been held to be more properly designed by professionals apart from societal impact. Change through time in the educational system occurs so…

Decisionmaking is the process of choosing among alternatives, or turning inputs into outputs. In a situation of information overload, inputs exceed the decisionmaker's capacity to assimilate and act on the information as well as his ability to evaluate every alternative. Decisionmakers have a variety of responses to information overload, some of…

Uses an example from educational planning (teacher supply) to show how the concepts of controlability and observability can add insight into the planning and decisionmaking process. (Author/JH)

Without a conscious effort to achieve optimum resource allocation, there is a real danger that educational resources may be wasted. This document uses input-output analysis to develop a model for rational decision-making in secondary education. (LLR)

From a systems analysis viewpoint, an evaluation system is a subsystem that is superimposed on the educational system to provide information for decisions related to its maintenance and goals. Educational outcomes, viewed as a much broader concept than the traditional view of changes in pupil behavior, represent the starting point for any…

Steps to be taken to "operationalize" evaluation, i.e., to make evaluation work, are discussed and applied to the Unesco program of functional literacy. Evaluation is seen as an important social concern, as well as a field of study and an area of competence. Four types of evaluation applied to the Unesco program are context evaluation,…