Shifting the Bell Curve: The Benefits and Costs of Raising Student Achievement

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Abstract:

From the abstract: "Benefit-cost analysis was conducted to estimate the increase in earnings, increased tax revenues, value of less crime, and reductions in welfare costs attributable to nationwide implementation of rapid assessment, a promising intervention for raising student achievement in math and reading. Results suggest that social benefits would exceed total social costs by a ratio of 28. Fiscal benefits to the federal government would exceed costs to the federal treasury by a ratio of 93. Social benefits would exceed costs to each state treasury by a ratio no lower than 286, and fiscal benefits would exceed costs to each state treasury by a ratio no lower than 5, for all but two state treasuries. Sensitivity analyses suggest that the findings are robust to a 5-fold change in the underlying parameters."

Reference: Yeh, S. S. (2009). Shifting the bell curve: The benefits and costs of raising student achievement. Evaluation and Program Planning, 32(1), 74-82.

Publication Date:
02/01/2009