ECONOMIES OF SCALE, BY PROGRAM, IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Scholars in the areas of economics and educational administration have in recent years examined the relationship between educational cost and school size. One distinguishing characteristic of such studies has been the choice of a school or a school district as the unit of analysis. Another is the overwhelming choice of a parabolic function to describe the cost‐size relationship. This study examines the question whether the unit of analysis should be a specific program of study (such as mathematics or social studies), utilizing data collected from Michigan secondary schools for the school year 1971–1972. The data are also used to check whether a hyperbolic relationship between school size and costs provides a better statistical fit to the data. The Michigan data encompass both secondary academic and vocational programs.