Solving the Productivity Puzzle

By G. Carl Ball

America's schools are caught between a rock and a hard place. The rock is that they are being asked to deliver more teaching and learning than ever. The quality of American schools has not been declining; students today are pursuing more-rigorous curricula and scoring higher on standardized tests. But the demands of the workplace are rising faster. To function in today's global economy the majority of workers must possess the reading, mathematics, and thinking skills--and the ability to learn--that previously were needed only by the elite few.

The hard place is that money is tight. America's schools currently spend $1.5 billion a school day, and many question whether the money is spent productively. For a variety of economic, political, and social reasons, the steady increases in per-pupil spending that public schools have enjoyed in recent decades have come to an end.

So there's the bind. America's schools are being asked to educate students to a higher level than ever before, but without additional resources. We must recognize that our funding, teachers, and conditions in which students live will not transform themselves overnight. Instead, educators, policymakers, and the public must find ways to make...