Recently, there has been growing interest in adapting Return-on-Investment thinking to education--sometimes called educational productivity, or academic-ROI. Education leaders do not seek a monetary return on their spending, rather greater student learning, or other outcomes like student citizenship, higher graduation rates, or increased lifetime…

Balanced educational development, derived from planning, permits the attainment of educational growth with the minimum social and financial costs or attainment of the maximum rate of growth with fixed social and financial expenditures. (Author/WM)

Mathematical model building for educational planning in this country has been heavily influenced by the USOE DYNAMOD Model, a computerized Markov-type or input-output model. However, the input-output method is structurally inadequate to reflect the true behavior of the educational system. To introduce some elements of decision making into the…

The needs assessment process must begin first with the determination of "what should be." The next process in needs assessment is the determination of "what is." The gaps or discrepancies between "what is" and "what should be" are the needs of the school or district. The results of this needs assessment must then be viewed in terms of the resource…

Educators must recognize the inadequacies of their planning, programing, evaluation, and budgeting systems. When these are redeveloped, PPBS will produce the cost/effectiveness data they are really capable of. (WM)

A mathematical model, using the vector maximization technique, is developed to study the underlying structure of a set of cost/benefit alternatives. (Author)

Educational resources are scarce and should be used efficiently. To do this, decision-makers in higher education need clearly defined objectives, creatively elaborated alternatives, and information about the costs and effectiveness of those alternatives. This paper describes a new management tool which is designed to provide better information…

This conference paper discusses the role of the Planning, Programing, and Budgeting System (PPBS) in planning for educational programs. Proper PPBS analysis includes (1) correct problem definition, (2) consideration of alternative solutions, (3) ascertainment of peripheral effects of the alternatives, and (4) estimations of the cost and…

Expertise in the technical aspects of planning and a keen appreciation of the social factors involved are not, in themselves, sufficient for satisfactory educational planning. The plan will still not be feasible unless there is attention to a third group of factors called "practical issues", "organizational features", or…

In this paper, the author develops a funding decision model that is appropriate to the evaluation of specific educational projects in an urban school system. He has attempted to develop a model that the central administration of a school district could use to compare projects and estimate which projects would be more likely to provide the most…

This dissertation begins with a description of some methods employed in making public-sector resource-allocation decisions, with conclusions on the appropriateness of each method for evaluating the ongoing programs of a school system. The second section has been rewritten and published as "A Comprehensive Theory of Cost-Effectiveness" (EA 002…

In this speech, the author discusses the implications of implementing a system for analyzing the utilization of instructional resources. The system translate established instructional theory into components and procedures of the instructional process, thus providing a vehicle for further development and testing of instructional theory. It also…

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 purpose of this handbook is to help clarify some of the procedural aspects leading to implementation of a program budgeting system and thereby assist those boards of education and administrators contemplating installation of program budgeting and, ultimately, a comprehensive program, planning, budgeting, system within their districts. The…

Planning, Programming, Budgeting System (PPBS) includes concepts and techniques for resource allocation decision making for rational and effective programming. Most federal agencies use PPBS for the development, analysis and presentation of resource needs. Traditional methods of budgeting focus primarily on resource inputs; PPBS focuses on both…