Assessing the efficiency of public schools using data envelopment analysis and frontier regression

The cost efficiency of 520 New York school districts is measured using data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier regression. Mean inefficiency is 14% using either method, and the rank order correlation coefficient of inefficiency between the two methods is .86. The three largest school districts (Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse) are among the most efficient. Student test scores are output variables, and socioeconomic control variables are included to adjust for the harshness of the educational environment in which districts operate. (JEL C29, C61, I21).