Four proposed interventions compete for a limited school-improvement budget. Which decision rule best supports efficient allocation while retaining educational priorities?

Correct answer: Compare expected priority gains against required resource cost. Comparing expected gains in priority areas against the resources required supports efficient allocation while keeping educational priorities in view.

• Rank interventions by expected effect without considering cost. Ignoring cost can use up the budget on one intervention.
• Fund the intervention serving the greatest number of people. The number of people served ignores effectiveness and cost.
• Select the intervention with the most predictable result. Predictability alone ignores both benefit and cost.