Evaluations That Consider the Cost of Educational Programs

Abstract

Cost studies are program evaluations that judge program worth by relating program costs to program benefits. There are three sets of strategies: cost—benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analysis, although the last appears infrequently. The authors searched relevant databases to identify 103 cost studies in education and then reduced the set to 31 using criteria focused on rigor in determining program effects and assessment of costs. They found that cost studies provide evidence of the worth of educational spending at the macro and individual program levels, information that is not provided by other evaluation approaches; provide direction for program improvement that differs from recommendations based solely on effect sizes; and contribute to knowledge development by constructing and testing models that link spending to student learning.