Causality, Causality, Causality: The View of Education Inputs and Outputs from Economics
Lisa Barrow, Cecilia Elena Rouse
In this paper we discuss methodologies for estimating the causal effect of resources on education outcomes; we also review what we believe to be the best evidence from economics on a few important inputs: spending, class size, teacher quality, the length of the school year, and technology. In general we conclude that while the number of papers using credible strategies is thin4, there is certainly evidence that what schools do matters. But, many unanswered questions remain.
