This monograph provides a theoretical substantiation for benefit-cost analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis in school system planning. Nine examples of decision-making situations are presented. A simple case of a single objective to be attained with one plan being selected from a set of proposed plans with no resource constraints evolves into a more complex and more realistic case with multiple objectives and several activities or programs to be chosen from a host of possibilities under resource constraints. Cases include not only a priori decision-making schemes but evaluation schemes as well. A summary of the nine cases offers specific recommendations about methods that can be used for generating and processing the kind of "data types" required for educational decision making. A 36-entry bibliography is appended. This document is a rewritten chapter of a dissertation entitled, "A Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation Approach to Improving Resource Allocations for School Systems" (EA 002 937). (DE)