N.Y.C. Study Weighs Cost of Small Schools

By Debra Viadero

Despite their higher costs, New York City's small high schools provide as much education value for the dollar as their larger, more traditional counterparts, a study has found.

The analysis by a team of researchers at New York University suggests that smaller schools are worth the extra investment because they graduate more of their students on time.

"A lot of the literature says small is good--particularly for poor and minority students," said Leanna Stiefel, the study's primary author and an economics professor at NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. "So it's good to put costs alongside of schools and find that, even when you do that, the costs relative...