Abstract
This paper analyses the value added (VA) of a sample of Portuguese schools using two methodologies: data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the methodology used presently by the UK Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The VA estimates obtained by the two methods are substantially different. This reflects their different focus: DEA emphasizes on best-observed performance, whereas the DCSF method reveals average performance. The main advantage of the methodology used by the DCSF is its simplicity, although it confounds pupil effects with school effects in the estimation of school VA. In contrast, the DEA methodology can differentiate these effects, but the complexity may prevent its use in a systematic way. This paper shows that the two methods provide complementary information regarding the VA of schools, and their joint use can improve the understanding of the relative effectiveness of schools regarding the progress that pupils make between educational stages.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Azevedo J ( 2002 ). Avaliação das escolas—consensos e divergências . ASA: Porto .
Azevedo JM ( 2005 ). Avaliação das escolas: Fundamentar modelos e operacionalizar processos . Conselho Nacional da Educação .
Banker RD, Charnes A and Cooper WW ( 1984 ). Some models for estimating technical and scale inefficiencies in data envelopment analysis . Mngt Sci 30 : 1078 – 1092 .
Banker RD, Janakiraman S and Natarajan R ( 2004 ). Analysis of trends in technical and allocative efficiency: An application to Texas public school districts . Eur J Opl Res 154 : 477 – 491 .
Bessent A and Bessent W ( 1980 ). Determining the comparative efficiency of schools through data envelopment analysis . Educ Adm Q 16 ( 2 ): 57 – 75 .
Bradley S, Johnes G and Millington J ( 2001 ). The effect of competition on the efficiency of secondary schools in England . Eur J Opl Res 135 : 545 – 568 .
Eurydice ( 2004 ). Evaluation of schools providing compulsory education in Europe . Available online at : http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/ressources/eurydice/pdf/0_integral/042EN.pdf, accessed 29 June 2009 .
Fitz-Gibbon CT ( 1985 ). A-level results in comprehensive schools: The COMBSE project, year 1 . Oxford Rev Educ 11 ( 1 ): 43 – 58 .
Galrão M ( 2007 ). Rendimento dos pais não explica notas dos filhos . Diário Económico, 11 December, p 36 .
Goldstein H ( 1995 ). Multilevel Statistical Models, 2nd edn . Edward Arnold: London .
Goldstein H, Rasbash J, Yang M, Woodhouse G, Pan H, Nuttall D and Thomas S ( 1993 ). A multilevel analysis of school examination results . Oxford Rev Educ 19 : 425 – 433 .
Goldstein H, Huiqi P, Rath T and Hill N ( 1999 ). The use of value added information in judging school performance . Available online at : http://www.mlwin.com/hgpersonal/value-added-school-performance.html, accessed 23 October 2005 .
Gray J, Jesson D and Sime N ( 1990 ). Estimating differences in the examination performances of secondary schools in six LEAs: A multi-level approach to school effectiveness . Oxford Rev Educ 16 : 137 – 157 .
Gray J, Goldstein H and Jesson D ( 1996 ). Changes and improvements in schools' effectiveness: Trends over five years . Res Pap Educ 11 ( 1 ): 35 – 51 .
Hanushek E and Taylor L ( 1990 ). Alternative assessments of performance of schools: Measurement of state variations in achievement . J Hum Resour 25 : 179 – 201 .
Kirjavainen T and Loikkanen HA ( 1998 ). Efficiency differences of Finnish senior secondary schools: An application of DEA and Tobit analysis . Econ Educ Rev 17 : 377 – 394 .
Mancebón M and Bandrés E ( 1999 ). Efficiency evaluation in secondary schools: The key role of model specification and of ex post analysis of results . Educ Econ 7 : 131 – 152 .
Mayston D ( 2003 ). Measuring and managing educational performance . J Opl Res Soc 54 : 679 – 691 .
Meyer RH ( 1997 ). Value-added indicators of school performance: A primer . Econ Educ Rev 16 : 283 – 301 .
O'Donoghue C, Thomas S, Goldstein H and Knight T ( 1997 ). 1996 DfEE study of value added for 16–18 year olds in England . DfEE Research Studies RS52, London: Department for Education and Employment .
Portela MCAS and Thanassoulis E ( 2001 ). Decomposing school and school type efficiency . Eur J Opl Res 132 : 114 – 130 .
Primont DF and Domazlicky B ( 2006 ). Student achievement and efficiency in Missouri schools and the No Child Left Behind Act . Econ Educ Rev 25 : 77 – 90 .
Saunders L ( 1999 ). A brief history of educational value added: How did we get to where we are? School Eff School Improv 10 : 233 – 256 .
Thanassoulis E ( 1999 ). Setting achievement targets for school children . Educ Econ 7 : 101 – 119 .
Thanassoulis E and Dunstan P ( 1994 ). Guiding schools to improved performance using data envelopment analysis: An illustration with data from a local education authority . J Opl Res Soc 45 : 1247 – 1262 .
Thanassoulis E and Portela MCAS ( 2002 ). School outcomes: Sharing the responsibility between pupil and school . Educ Econ 10 : 183 – 207 .
Woodhouse G and Goldstein H ( 1988 ). Educational performance indicators and LEA league tables . Oxford Rev Educ 14 : 301 – 320 .
Worthington AC ( 2001 ). An empirical survey of frontier efficiency mesurement techniques in education . Educ Econ 9 : 245 – 268 .
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Fundação Manuel Leão, in particular professor Joaquim Azevedo, for allowing the use of the AVES data in this study, and for useful comments on the paper. The authors also acknowledge the financial support of the programme POCI 2010 (POCI/EGE/60561/2004) co-financed by the Portuguese government through foundation for science and technology (FCT) and the European Union through FEDER.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Portela, M., Camanho, A. Analysis of complementary methodologies for the estimation of school value added. J Oper Res Soc 61, 1122–1132 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2009.85
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2009.85