Assessing the Role of K-12 Academic Standards in States Workshop Summary (2008) / Chapter Skim
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2 Estimating Costs
2 Estimating Costs
Pages 9-16
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From page 9... ...
. Douglas Harris and Lori Taylor followed with a detailed investigation of the challenges of estimating the costs of this kind of enterprise, as well as empirical estimates of the costs incurred in three states, Florida, North Dakota, and Texas (Harris and Taylor, 2008b)
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From page 10... ...
. COST ESTIMATION FRAMEWORK Goertz organized her framework around what she identified as the six primary activities that comprise a standards-based reform system, though she noted that others might define the major activities differently; see Box 2-1.
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From page 11... ...
Interventions might include developing school improvement plans, measures to build capacity at the district level, or professional development in such areas as curriculum and instruction, data analysis, assessment, and leadership. For failing students, states vary in terms of how they determine eligibility and in how they structure and deliver remediation, as well as in how much funding may be available from the state for this purpose.
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From page 12... ...
One important distinction is that between fixed costs, those that are the same regardless of the scale of the program, and variable costs, those that vary depending on the scale. A significant fixed cost of standardsbased reform is developing the content standards and setting the performance standards: this cost would be the same whether the standards The committee worked with Diane Massell and her colleagues and with Harris and Taylor to develop a list of states for analysis according to a variety of criteria, including geographic diversity, nature of standards and accountability program, and availability of cost data.
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From page 13... ...
Another distinction used by economists is that between opportunity costs and expenditures: reforms may switch resources from one activity to another and it is important to include such resource costs in the cost estimate, even if they do not result in new expenditures. So, for example, the time that teachers need to spend on testing-related tasks does not require additional state or district expenditures because the teachers would otherwise have been engaged in another task and would be receiving their salaries.
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From page 14... ...
Nevertheless, their preliminary response to question 1, regarding the costs of current systems, is that the costs of standards-based assessment and accountability systems is a relatively small percentage of total educational costs. Harris and Taylor's portrait of the complexity of estimating costs and identifying potential savings that could be achieved with a model based on common standards stimulated a range of reactions.
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From page 15... ...
Discussant Dave Driscoll pointed out additional costs that could be considered in light of the earlier discussion about resources and capacity. One example is the cost to Massachusetts of releasing every single test item that is used so that the process is completely transparent to students, parents, and the public: doing so increases the cost substantially (other states bank many items for reuse)
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From page 16... ...
The Massachusetts legislature had initially provided extra funds to support students who were in danger of failing the high school graduation test, but as first-time pass rates passed 80 percent, those funds were discontinued. Discussant Mark Harris considered the capacity issue from a qualitative perspective.
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