STARS Efficiency Rating System Student Transportation

Why does it exist? The objective of the ERS is to identify, for each school district, an empirically based and mathematically sound minimum expenditure level and minimum number of buses that allows the school district to transport its students to and from school, while recognizing local site characteristics that influence cost, but are beyond the direct control of school district management. The intent is to be able to identify school districts that, while receiving full funding under the STARS, have room for improving efficiency.

How does it work? Cohorts KPI (Key Performance Indicators) Linear Optimization

Cohorts A KPI cohort is provided by the state. This cohort is based on total students transported and selecting the ten districts above and below the district under evaluation.

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KPI (Key Performance Indicators) 1. Basic Program riders per basic program bus; 2. Special Education riders per special education bus; 3. Average cost per rider Example: Northshore

Total Riders Basic Riders Per Basic Bus Ascending order of KPI This table shows the districts sorted in ascending order by the value of their Cost per Rider KPI. This sort reflects that efficiency in this KPI is reflected by a lower cost per student, rather than higher numbers of riders per bus.

Linear Optimization Linear programming (LP; also called linear optimization) is a method to achieve the best outcome (such as maximum profit or lowest cost) in a mathematical model whose requirements are represented by linear relationships