Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is one of the most widely used efficiency measurement techniques in the literature. In the method developed by Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes, the relation between input(s) and output(s) is examined and relative efficiency values are obtained for many decisionmaking units. In order to be able to accurately measure the…

William Massy is an emeritus professor and former Vice President for Business and Finance at Stanford University, Teresa Sullivan is President of the University of Virginia, and Christopher Mackie is a Study Director with the National Academies' Committee on National Statistics. This article summarizes the authors' recent National Research Council…

In the literature of higher education cost function study, enough knowledge is created in the area of economy scale in the context of developed countries but the knowledge of input demand is lacking. On the other hand, empirical knowledge in the context of developing countries is very meagre. The paper fills up the knowledge gap, estimating a…

This article examines the relative production efficiency of school districts in Georgia using the modified quadriform method. Overall, we find that the modified quadriform allows state-level policymakers to access a basic tool for analysis that makes relative comparison of school district productivity for use in policy analysis and policy…

Using a reduced form version of a theoretical expansion of Hoxby's (1996) education production model, we investigate whether bargaining teachers unions are a boon or a bust to the economy of the state. We anticipate teachers, being in the public sector veiled from competition, are less likely to be efficient. Yet, their product, education,…

This study summarizes recent and continuing research conducted by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) on the metrics used for measuring college performance. Unlike other rankings, this study does not concentrate on the inputs of college education such as endowment size, number of faculty, or the educational preparation of…

The operations of an institution can be viewed from three perspectives: (1) the "actual operating measurement" such as income and expenditures of a cost center at a point in time; (2) the "criterion" which reflects the established policy for a time period; and (3) the "efficiency level" wherein a balance between input and output is defined.…

A "second best" approach, reintroducing educational productivity analyses into school finance reform strategies, may help to promote efficiency in the provision of educational services. The limitations of analysis models and measurement of equity and efficiency are discussed. (Author/CM)

To help administrators improve school efficiency in a time of financial constraints, this document reviews research on school productivity, points out possible improvements suggested by the research, and discusses several problems in measuring school costs and effectiveness. The author first explains the analytical concepts of school productivity,…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) commissioned the papers in this publication to address advances in measuring education inflation and adjusting for it, as well as to examine the emergence of a new focus on school spending, rather than school district spending, as well as new, private sources of funding for public education, and…