CBCSE Cost Tool Kit Development

The goals of the project are to demonstrate the method of cost-effectiveness analysis as applied to educational interventions, to illustrate its value to policymakers in improving the productivity of resource allocation decisions, and to provide tools and guidance for other researchers in how to conduct cost-effectiveness analyses in practice. Education research has focused primarily on effectiveness and has advanced considerably in identifying the impact of interventions, programs, and reforms on educational outcomes. In contrast, research on costs, cost-effectiveness, and cost-benefit measures of educational interventions has not developed to the same extent or the limited cost evidence that exists often lacks rigor. The Cost Tool Kit is intended to improve capacity and increase the number of research and evaluation studies in education that include comparable and consistent cost analyses. It will also help education decision-makers and policymakers in making decisions about how to allocate resources among alternative programs. To improve the productivity of education programs it is essential to consider the resources required for implementation in addition to the evidence of effectiveness. The end product will be a Cost Tool Kit with associated support materials and examples of its application for use by other researchers and by education decision-makers or policymakers to facilitate the calculation of cost and cost-effectiveness metrics for educational programs.