A Think Twice Review of:

The Efficiency Index

Think Twice - Sep 23, 2014

Publisher/Think Tank - GEMS Education Solutions

Author(s) - Peter Dolton, Oliver Marcenaro-Gutierrez, and Adam Still

This report, supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), measured efficiency based on test scores, and resource use analyzed in terms of teachers wages and pupil-teacher ratios. It looked at costs for teachers and educational outcomes, and did not consider socioeconomic differences.

Reviewer(s) - Clive Belfield, Queens College, City University of New York

In his review, Clive Belfield finds the assumptions that efficiency is best analyzed through international comparisons of test score data to be problematic. He states, “This type of analysis has contributed very little to the improvement of educational policy in the US.” Regarding the report’s usefulness, he finds “the policy implications that flow from the report's own analysis are unrealistic and by the authors' own admission ‘practically impossible.’”