Can Schools Get More Productive? (answer: yes) Dr. Marguerite Roza Georgetown University MR1170@georgetown.edu 1
Bill Gates, 2011 2
All WA Elementary Schools with > 75% F/RL) Math performance Per pupil Spending (avg, $10,200) EDUNOMICS LAB AT GEORGETOW N UNIVERSITY 3 EDUNOMICS.GEORGETOW N.EDU
True or False? Two schools with roughly the same mix of students can spend the same amount money and get different results. True False Two schools with roughly the same mix of students can spend the same amount money in the same way and get different results. True False Why? The “school effect.” EDUNOMICS LAB AT GEORGETOW N UNIVERSITY 4 EDUNOMICS.GEORGETOW N.EDU
What is productivity? • “Productivity” involves raising outcomes for a given expenditure Outcomes ---------------------- Inputs ($) “Efficiency” generally refers to achieving the same outcomes at a lower expenditure. EDUNOMICS LAB AT GEORGETOW N UNIVERSITY 5 EDUNOMICS.GEORGETOW N.EDU
Rural districts vary on spending, outcomes and ROI . ROI Superstars 100 Consider rural districts of similar 90 size, poverty level: Percent passing state HS math 80 -- 1400-2000 students 70 -- 40-60% FRL 60 50 40 30 EDUNOMICS LAB AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY $6,000 $8,000 $10,000 $12,000 $14,000 $16,000 6 EDUNOMICS.GEORGETOWN.EDU
20 years research: Frustrating Finding: Expenditure choices don’t explain as much of the variation as we’d hoped. What does? • Ownership. (It yields human/school effects) • Understanding tradeoffs. (Financial transparency helps here) • Benchmarking with data (spending and outcomes). 7
What do you prefer? (survey by Goldhaber & DeArmond) $5K bonus or 2 fewer students in each class you teach 83% $5K bonus or 1/5 of an aide 88% $5K bonus or 3.5 hours more prep time per week 69% 8
In context of limited resources, some schools much better at producing outcomes than others. View District Schools High Spend. Low Spend. High Outcomes High Outcomes High Spend. High Low Spend. Outcomes High Outcomes Student Growth Rates Adjusted student performance Adjusted student performance Low Spend. High Spend. High Spend. Low Spend. Low Outcomes Low Outcomes Low Outcomes Low Outcomes Adjusted Per Pupil Spending (Avg $10,200) Adjusted Per Pupil Spending (avg, $10,200) Filters help zero in on 9 relevant comparisons
Variation in productivity exists even among “like” schools: Subset Elementary Schools (Low Poverty, Oakland Area, Mostly White) Student Outcomes Spending percentile
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