ERIC Number: EJ734949
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 26
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0895-9048
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Cost-Effective School Inputs: Is Class Size Reduction the Best Educational Expenditure for Florida?
Normore, Anthony H.; Ilon, Lynn
Educational Policy, v20 n2 p429-454 2006
The current debate about class size is not centered on whether smaller class sizes are desirable. Rather, the debate is whether the costs involved are the best ways to spend taxpayers' monies. This analysis addresses this question for the state of Florida. Using the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test as a measure of educational achievement, a state data set containing information on all elementary schools was used to examine which government-funded inputs were most cost effective. Using a three-step methodology leading to a cost effectiveness analysis, this article finds that reducing class sizes is the most expensive of state inputs that affect achievement scores. Varying the mix of school personnel (administrators, teachers, and teacher aides) and investments in teacher quality (training and experience) are shown to produce the same results (raising test scores) at a lower cost than the reduction of class sizes. (Contains 5 tables, 3 figures, and 12 notes.)
Descriptors: Class Size, Cost Effectiveness, Academic Achievement, Educational Policy, Expenditure per Student, Elementary Schools, School Personnel, Teacher Effectiveness, Achievement Tests, Teacher Aides, Policy Analysis, Resource Allocation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A