Causality, Causality, Causality: The View of Education Inputs and Outputs from Economics
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.
