Evaluation, Economics and Performance Indicators1

The concern for effectiveness is manifest in the specification of objectives, the measurement of progress towards them and consideration of alternative courses of action to reach the same ends. A concern for efficiency usually reflects an interest in minimizing inputs to achieve the same level of output, or maximizing outputs with the same level of input; it is essentially an economic calculus. Investment in economic calculation and visibility tends to increase during periods of financial restraint. In the United States of America the National Assessment of Educational Progress was established in the 1960s to monitor change and provide data on the relationship between student performance and the resources that go into education. Performance indicators tend to influence the way any system operates. The most fundamental methodological issues raised by the construction and use of performance indicators are ones of reliability and validity.