Is Class Size Reduction Cost-Effective? Comparing the Cost-Effectiveness of Class Size Reduction to Teachers' Salary Increases Under Various Policy Designs

• In Event: 61.068 - Conceptualizing Educational Adequacy

Abstract

Many school districts around the country have only recently restored budgets back to pre-recession levels. As part of a major state school finance reform, district administrators in California have been granted considerable flexibility in determining how to allocate new state funding to local schools. The purpose of this study is to examine the relative cost-effectiveness of variations of class size reduction and teachers’ salary increase policies. Drawing on data from the Los Angeles Unified School District, I find that class size reduction is generally more cost-effective than raising teachers’ salaries; however, both policies are more cost-effective when targeted at specific grades or schools.

Author

• David S. Knight, University of Texas at El Paso