Estimation of a frontier production function for the South Carolina educational process

Using data from 541 classes in South Carolina, OLS and frontier production functions are estimated. Results indicate that classes taught by teachers who received merit awards show greater mathematics and reading achievement gain scores, as are classes in which there are fewer students who receive fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Economics of education review 1997, Vol.16 (3), p.313-327
Main Authors: Cooper, Samuel T., Cohn, Elchanan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Educational Economics
Efficiency
Elementary Secondary Education
Regression (Statistics)
Resource Allocation
School Effectiveness
South Carolina
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Summary:Using data from 541 classes in South Carolina, OLS and frontier production functions are estimated. Results indicate that classes taught by teachers who received merit awards show greater mathematics and reading achievement gain scores, as are classes in which there are fewer students who receive free or reduced-fee lunch. Results for teacher sex and race are ambiguous, as are results for teacher education. We also found a positive relation between achievement and class size, contrary to popular perceptions. Finally, the results from the frontier production function strongly suggest that at least some degree of inefficiency is present in the South Carolina education system. Some suggestions for school improvement are offered.
ISSN:0272-7757
1873-7382
DOI:10.1016/S0272-7757(96)00077-5