Measuring educational efficiency at student level with parametric stochastic distance functions: an application to Spanish PISA results

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to examine the observed differences in Students’ test performance across public and private‐voucher schools in Spain. For this purpose, we explicitly consider that education is a multi‐input multi‐output production process subject to inefficient behaviors, which can be identified at student level using a parametric stochastic distance function approach. The empirical application of this model, based on Spanish data from the Programme for International Student Assessment implemented by the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development in 2003, allows us to identify different aspects of the underlying educational technology. Among other things, the results provide insights into how student background, peer group, school characteristics and personal circumstances interact with educational outputs. Moreover, our findings suggest that, once educational inputs and potential bias due to school choice endogeneity are taken into account, no further unexplained difference remains between students’ efficiency levels across public and private‐voucher schools.public schools, educational efficiency, stochastic frontier, distance function,

The efficiency of public and publicly subsidized high schools in Spain: Evidence from PISA-2006

“…Since then, a number of studies have attempted to contrast this result in a wide range of educational contexts, through the use of parametric and nonparametric techniques. Such literature has offered mixed conclusions: while a number of studies tend to confirm the results obtained by Coleman et al (1982) (Opdenakker & Van Damme, 2006;Bettinger, 2005;Mizzala, Romaguera & Farren, 2002;Bedi & Garg, 2000;Stevans & Sessions, 2000;Neal, 1997;Jiménez, Lockheed & Paqueo, 1991;Chubb & Moe, 1990;Hanushek, 1986), in others the presumed superiority of private schools vanishes when the analysis includes a wide range of controls (Perelman & Santin, 2008;Mancebón & Muñiz, 2008;Calero & Escardíbul, 2007;Abburrà, 2005;Fertig, 2003;Kirjavainen & Loikkanen, 1998;Goldhaber, 1996;Sander, 1996) or is reduced to specific measurements of the output analyzed (Greene & Kang, 2004), or to specific groups of students defined by race, ethnic group, or academic or socioeconomic profile (Figlio & Stone, 1997). In some cases, there exists a different effect for independent private schools and for PSPS (Dronkers & Robert, 2008;Corten & Dronkers, 2006).…”

Efficiency in education: a review of literature and a way forward

“…Observed in: , Colbert et al (2000), Portela and Thanassoulis (2001), Robst (2001), Mizala et al (2002), Thanassoulis and Portela (2002), Dolton et al (2003), , Waldo (2007a), Cherchye et al (2010), De Witte et al (2010), Portela and Camanho (2010), Cordero-Ferrera et al (2011), Perelman and Santín (2011a) (2011b, Montoneri et al (2012), De Witte and Kortelainen (2013), Deutsch et al (2013), Portela et al (2013), Thieme et al (2013), Crespo-Cebada et al (2014), Podinovski et al (2014). Source: The authors 2.3.1.…”

“…Finally, only few papers have taken into account issues related to the way of living (exceptions are Dolton et al, 2003;Kong and Fu, 2012). Dolton et al (2003), Perelman and Santín (2011a), Mainardes et al (2014). Peer group Deller and Rudnicki (1993), Waldo (2007a), Cordero-Ferrera et al (2011), Mongan et al (2011), Perelman and Santín (2011a) (2011b, Crespo-Cebada et al (2014), Grosskopf et al (2014).…”

Análisis multivariable del rendimiento académico del alumnado más sobresaliente de la educación secundaria obligatoria en Galicia, España

“…Otra vertiente, como la de (Perelman y Santín, 2011), cuestiona la superioridad de los centros privados alegando que el hecho diferenciador no es la titularidad del centro, sino la composición del mismo.…”