Academic Achievement and Efficiency in Southeast Missouri Schools

The No Child Left Behind initiative places pressure on school districts to be accountable for the performance of their students. Though an imperfect measure, student performance is most frequently measured through the use of standardized test scores. Research has shown that a value added approach, such as employed in this paper, is a more accurate measure of a school district's performance. Our research implies that test scores alone may not capture the true status of a district's performance level. Some districts with low test scores may actually be outperforming other districts with much higher scores, as measured by efficiency levels. That is, some low-scoring districts may actually be providing education services as effectively as they can, given their resources and student characteristics.