Module 3

Collecting Cost Data

This module gets to the core of cost analysis: collecting data on all resources used to implement a program or practice. We describe the precise information that counts as “cost data” and introduce you to a few data collection instruments. We show you how to set up a cost analysis worksheet in one of our templates so you can enter the data as you collect it. If you document your data systematically as you collect it, analysis will be relatively painless.

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In This Module…

The development and production of these materials was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305U200002 to Teachers College, Columbia University. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

 
 

Module Note: Where to find the CAP Project Resources described in this Module
All the CAP Project resources mentioned in this module, including the CAPCAT templates, fully-completed CAPCAT 1.2 Plus worksheet demonstrating our example CEA of Reading Recovery vs. Fast ForWord Reading, interview protocol, time log, event log, and Cost of Facilities Calculator are available on our resources page. You can use the CAP Project Resources tab on the top right of this page to get there any time.

Module 3: Video 1

Introduction to Module 3: Collecting Cost Data

06:35 minutes

Data collection is the most time-consuming aspect of cost analysis. This introductory video provides an overview of Module 3 and some important pointers for collecting cost data.

Watch Video 1

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 1:
Type, quantity and units, percentage of use, price, shadow price

Test What You Know

Try answering a few questions about what data you do (or don’t) need to help you estimate the costs of program ingredients, and where you might find it. This will give you a taste of what this module is about.

TAKE THE PRE-QUIZ
 
 

Methods Note: If you are comparing costs of a program with a “control” condition, do you know yet whether students/teachers in the control condition participate in alternative programs targeting the same outcomes as yours?

Remember that for CEA, you need incremental or differential costs of the treatment program compared with alternative programs used by control group participants.

If the control group engages in multiple different programs, you may not have time and budget to estimate costs of all the alternatives. Possible strategies:

  1. Pick the most common.

  2. Select a sample of the different programs, estimate the costs of each, and average them to serve as the comparison group costs. Or, provide a weighted average using the number of participants engaging in each alternative to calculate weights.

  3. Choose the programs that you expect to be least resource-intensive and most resource-intensive so you can present a range of costs.

Data Collection Instruments

Module 3: Video 2

Interviews for Cost Data Collection

11:22 minutes

In this video we introduce you to a cost analysis interview template and illustrate how to use it to conduct a interview. We role play a few questions and show you how to use the information to produce useful data for your cost estimates.

Watch Video 2

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 2:
Interview protocol, key personnel

Module 3: Video 3

Collecting Cost Data Using Event and Time Logs

8:26 minutes

This video shows you how to use two additional data collection instruments to collect cost data: a time log which captures personnel time use across program activities, and an event log for use on occasions where multiple people are present, e.g., a training session.

Watch Video 3

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 3:
time log, event log

 
 

Methods Note: Efficient data collection
Have you consulted with personnel implementing the program or those assessing fidelity of implementation as to what kinds of data collection instruments they are already using and whether you can add questions to their instruments?

Preparing your Cost Analysis Spreadsheet for Ingredients Data

Module 3: Video 4

Setting Up Your Cost Analysis: Site Information

04:34 minutes

This video completes the set up activities required in CAP Project’s cost analysis template, CAPCAT 1.2 Plus. You’ll see how to enter information about each study site so your template is ready for you to start entering ingredients data row by row in the ingredients tabs.

Watch Video 4

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 4:
Site, participant, double counting

Module 3: Video 5

Setting Up Your Cost Analysis: Customizations

07:07 minutes

This video describes several customizations you can make to CAPCAT 1.2 Plus. These include adding overview tables, changing certain ingredient labels you can use to produce cost breakdowns, and updating the inflation indices.

Watch Video 5

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 5:
Overview tables, cost breakdowns, cost stage, inflation indices

 
 

Methods Note: Where to put your data
Are you all set with a place to start entering cost data as you collect them? CAP Project provides several templates here, but you could also create your own worksheets.

What Data to Collect and How to Enter it into a Cost Analysis Template

Module 3: Video 6

Ingredients Data: Personnel

13:58 minutes

In the first of a series of 4 videos, you’ll learn what specific data you need to collect about each personnel ingredient. You’ll also see how to enter it into CAPCAT 1.2 Plus.

Watch Video 6

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 6:
Fringe benefits

Module 3: Video 7

Ingredients Data: Materials

12:29 minutes

This video follows the same pattern as the others in this section but focuses on materials and equipment.

Watch Video 7

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 7:
Useful lifetime

 
 

Module Note: Where can I see the rest of the ingredients entered into CAPCAT 1.2 Plus?
You can find the fully-completed CAPCAT 1.2 Plus worksheet with all ingredients for our example cost-effectiveness analysis of Reading Recovery vs. Fast ForWord Reading on the CAP Project templates page. Note that the templates are updated time to time so you may find small differences in what is shown in the Modules and what you see in the latest version available on the templates page.

Module 3: Video 8

Ingredients Data: Facilities

14:59 minutes

This video follows the same pattern as the others in this section but focuses on facilities (physical spaces).

Watch Video 8

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 8:
Facilities, FF&E, uprating

Module 3: Video 9

Ingredients Data: Other Inputs

17:18 minutes

This video follows the same pattern as the others in this section but focuses on other inputs.

Watch Video 9

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 9:
Conservative cost estimate, liberal cost estimate, shadow price

 
 

Methods Note: Taking stock of where you are
Collecting cost data is the most time-intensive aspect of cost analysis. Once you have your data, the analysis is relatively swift, but you may find you need to go back to your sources to fill in some gaps in the details.

Where to Find Price Data

Module 3: Video 10

Sources of National Price Data

13:36 minutes

In this video you’ll learn where to find national prices for the types of ingredients that are used to implement educational programs - primarily personnel.

Watch Video 10

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 10:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, percentile wage estimate, National Compensation Survey Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, total compensation, National Teacher and Principal Survey, IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Dataset)

Module 3: Video 11

Sources of Local Price Data

05:25 minutes

This video includes ideas for where to find local price data, and also indices you can use to convert national prices to local prices and vice versa.

Watch Video 11

Key Terms You Should Know from Video 11:
Geographical indices, Comparable Wage Index for Teachers (CWIFT), Regional price parities

 
 

Methods Note: Pricing ingredients for which no market price is available
While it may seem there’s an ocean of price data out there, it’s sometimes hard to find the exact ingredient you are looking for, like “interventionist.” In these situations, you may need to use a price for a broader category of ingredients like “teachers.” For a resource that does not have any market price available, e.g., a curriculum you are developing, you may need to come up with a “shadow price” based on prices of similar or parallel curricula already on the market.

Recommended Readings

 

The first reading is a blog post with some useful tips about collecting cost data as part of an efficacy trial. The second is a journal article that includes many useful numbers you can use as assumptions in your analysis. The last two items address issues related to the teacher workforce that affect the costs of personnel time.

  • This blog provides practical advice about collecting cost data as part of an efficacy trial, including some example questions.

    Data Collection for Cost Analysis in an Efficacy Trial. Shand, R. & Brodziak, I. (2020, August). Inside IES Research.

    Access this reading

  • This article includes suggestions for data sources and assumptions to use in your cost analysis.

    Shand, R., & Bowden, A. B. (2022). Empirical support for establishing common assumptions in cost research in education. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 15(1), 103-129.

    Access this reading

  • The authors use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and State Education Agencies to describe patterns in K-12 education employment and to point out limitations in the available data.

    Bleiberg, Joshua, and Matthew A. Kraft. (2022). What Happened to the K-12 Education Labor Market During COVID? The Acute Need for Better Data Systems. (EdWorkingPaper: 22-544). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/2xw0-v642

    Access this reading

  • This blog describes how school districts used incentive payments to retain teachers through the pandemic.

    Saenz-Armstrong, P. (2021, December 9). COVID-related incentives for teachers during the 2021-22 school year. [Blog post]. National Council on Teacher Quality.

    Access this reading

 
 
 

Apply Your Learning

At this point you should know exactly what data you need to collect in order to estimate costs of implementing the program you are studying - and where to get it. Take the End of Module Self-Assessment to test your ability to apply your learning.

 
 

Additional Resources

Here are a few more resources that may be helpful for the data collection stage of your cost study. The first is a report on school facilities which includes construction prices by state and for the U.S. overall. The second includes estimates of the value of volunteer time, also by state and for the U.S. as a whole. The last item is a blog contributing to the discussion about the current teacher labor market.

 
 

  • Appendix A lists average construction costs, and maintenance & operations, for PK-12 schools by state and for U.S.

    Link to State of Our Schools

  • Value of Volunteer Time. Independent Sector, a non-profit organization, provides annual estimates of the value of volunteer time by state and for the U.S. as a whole.

    Link to Independent Sector Value of Volunteer Time

  • This Brookings Institution blog shares valuable insights and recommendations on the teacher labor market

    Link to blog

 
 

Your Feedback

How helpful was it? Do you feel more confident about your ability to conduct a cost analysis? What can we improve? Please complete the Module 3 Feedback Questionnaire.

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Module 4: Analyzing Cost Data

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