Economic Evaluation in Education: Cost-Effectiveness and Benefit-Cost Analysis

Abstract

Chapter 3. Cost Concepts 45 3.1. The Concept of Costs 46 3.2. Cost per Unit 49 3.3. Costs and the Theory of Change 51 3.4. Costs Data and Budgetary Information 54 3.5.Motivation for Cost Analysis 56 3.6. Conclusions 58 Discussion Questions 59 Exercises 59 Chapter 4. The Ingredients Method 61 4.1. Identifying Ingredients 62 4.2. Specifying Ingredients 63 4.3. Sources of Ingredients Information 71 4.4. Conclusions 74 Discussion Questions 75 Exercises 75 Chapter 5. Placing Values on Ingredients 77 5.1. Methods for Valuing Ingredients 78 5.2. Placing Dollar Values on Ingredients 82 5.3. Costs Over Multiple Years 93 5.4. Conclusions 100 Discussion Questions 100 Exercises 101 Chapter 6. Analyzing and Reporting Costs 103 6.1. Tabulating Total Cost Using a Cost Worksheet 104 6.2. Reporting Costs 109 6.3. Allocating Costs Among Constituencies 117 6.4. Analyzing Cost Determinants and Generalizing Costs 123 6.5. Conclusions 128 Discussion Questions 129 Exercises 129 Chapter 7. Effectiveness 131 7.1. Specifying Effectiveness 132 7.2. Methods for Identifying Effectiveness 141 7.3. Utility Analysis 149 7.4. Conclusions 162 Discussion Questions 163 Exercises 163 Chapter 8. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis 8.1. Cost-Effectiveness Ratios 166 8.2. Alternative Cost-Effectiveness Metrics 169

Cost-Effectiveness of Instructional Coaching: Implementing a Design-Based, Continuous Improvement Model to Advance Teacher Professional Development

“…Cost-effectiveness analysis ranks alternative policy options according to a measure of their effect on outcomes relative to their resource use (Levin, 2001;Levin et al, 2017;Levin & Belfield, 2015). For example, a study might compare the relative costeffectiveness of reducing class size to raising teacher salaries (e.g., Belfield & Levin, 2007).…”

“…Estimating costs. We used a methodological approach called the ingredients method to assess costs (Levin et al, 2017), which consists of two basic steps. First, we collected data on the quality and quantity of all resources required of the intervention, which included physical resources such as video cameras and instructional materials, as well as salaried work time of teachers, coaches, principals, and coach trainers.…”

“…Readers may be familiar with other paradigmatic perspectives of value, such as "use value" and "exchange value" (e.g., Noyes, 2016;Peters, 2002). Our definition of cost-effectiveness is drawn from the cost-effectiveness literature (see Levin et al, 2017 for an overview). 2.…”

Protocol for a hybrid type 3 cluster randomized trial of a technical assistance system supporting coalitions and evidence-based drug prevention programs

“…This assessment will use methodology developed in prior work including annual average cost estimates as well as ranges of costs across differing coalition settings [ 66 ]. We will adopt an ingredients-based approach where all program inputs and activities in the day-to-day implementation are identified regardless of whether a direct cost was required [ 67 ]. We will seek cost information from multiple sources.…”

A Cost Analysis of the Innovation–Decision Process of an Evidence-Based Practice in Schools

“…Yet many EBPs come with substantial purchasing, training, and monitoring costs. Economic evaluations, an umbrella term used to describe a formal set of methodologies such as cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and benefit-cost analysis, fundamentally seek to examine the allocation of scarce resources (Levin et al, 2018). Despite their potential to explore cost as a barrier to the adoption and implementation of EBPs, economic evaluations are relatively scarce in education when compared to other related disciplines (Hummel-Rossi & Ashdown, 2002).…”