ABSTRACT
There is a very large literature on the effects of school resources on academic achievement, but this review emphasizes studies that are more recent and that utilize methods providing for the most plausible causal inferences such as meta-analyses and statewide experimental designs. Categories include the most important types of school resources, including expenditures, class size, teacher and principal characteristics, and school reorganization studies. All studies are summarized using standardized effect sizes.
Generally speaking, average effect sizes for school resource effects are usually under 0.10, and in most cases they average out at about 0.05 or less. Average effect sizes are 0.04 for expenditures; 0 for teacher education; 0.05 for teacher experience, and 0.05 for teacher certification. Estimates for class size reduction vary widely, especially for statewide policies, apparently because smaller class sizes require more teachers which in turn reduce teacher experience and/or efficacy.
There is also considerable variation in studies on the effects of school reorganization, but two components of reorganization appear to have moderate effects. Standardized effects for increased instructional time is 0.13 and for more effective teachers (using value-added methods) is 0.13 or 0.14.
