An efficiency analysis of the secondary educational system in OECD countries

The educational process is a very complex and critical service which involves material and nonmaterial goods, such as class rooms, computers, laboratories, qualification and experience of teachers, etc. This process can be viewed as a production process, whose analysis can be performed in the framework of the neoclassical production theory. Consequently, the schools can be seen as organizations that employ inputs (schools’ resources, organizational factors, etc.) to produce an output (the students’ achievement) and the efficiency of a school can be defined as the capacity to generate the maximum output given the quantity of inputs they use. In this perspective, using the data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2006), we try to model the educational process by a stochastic educational production function, controlling for differences in various school characteristics that may influence student achievement. The results highlight how the school accountability and the contextual factors may influence the efficiency levels.