Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Coe, Richard

Keywords

Education Production Function, School Resources, Public Education, Education Inputs, Student Achievement

Area of Concentration

Economics

Abstract

Ideally, students would attain a quality education from the United States public education system. However, the exact relationship between various education inputs and student achievement is still uncertain. Using the 2011-2012 Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) for the 8th grade, this study is designed to analyze the education production function in South Carolina at the school level. Five subject tests were analyzed in this education production function, which measured the relationship between the percent of students who met or exceeded state standards and school inputs, while controlling for student demographics. The results of this study suggest that school resources do not matter; there is not a statistically significant relationship for a single school resource across all five subject tests. The majority of the school inputs do not have a statistically significant parameter estimate. However, the suggestion that school resources do not matter is challenged in suggesting that the results suggest that the public education system is not using these resources effectively. This final suggestion implies that a structural change is needed to improve the education system.

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