ABSTRACT
Over the past several decades, the attention of both education research and policy-making communities has gravitated toward the notion of education outcomes; the resulting research and policy agendas now focus on how to produce desirable outcomes more effectively, efficiently, and equitably. 1 This emphasis on outcomes is evident in the current call for adequacy, the preoccupation with accountability, the promulgation of “performance-based” rewards and punishments, and the intensification of efforts to measure and track educational outcomes, primarily though testing. Information on the level and distribution of fiscal resources across districts and schools is no longer sufficient grounds for making decisions about the relative desirability of different financing strategies. The spotlight now focuses on the complex processes through which these inputs translate into sought-after educational outcomes. Reaching a clearer understanding of this production process holds great promise for advancing progress toward efficiency, equity, and adequacy goals in education.
