BYU-Idaho Gets It: Productivity Not Spending

Kim B. Clark was recently appointed President of BYU-Idaho. He is the former Dean of Harvard Business School. In his inaugural speech he outlined three “imperatives” for the University: raise quality, serve more students, and lower relative costs. Idaho’s Governor and legislature would do well to apply all of these imperatives to public education, particularly the third. President Clark has clarified a major issue in education as being one of productivity not spending.

Productivity is simply output divided by input. In education, output is achievement growth and input is cost. When it comes to public education, elected officials and policymakers have confused spending with productivity. It’s like arguing that if I pay more for gas that you do, that my car must be getting better mileage than your car.

According to Harvard University economist Caroline M. Hoxby, productivity in the U.S. economy soared an impressive 60 percent between 1970 and 2000 in terms of output per hour, but productivity in U.S. public schools fell by 42 percent over the same period in terms of achievement per dollar spent.

If Idaho’s public schools were only as productive as they were in 1970, education spending would be 42% lower. With the Idaho State Department of Education reporting $1.872 billion spent on public education in 2003-2004, a 42 percent savings would total $786 million a year. This is around $1,550 per family. What could your family do with an extra $1,550 per year? If public education were as productive as the general U.S. economy over the past three decades, the average Idaho family would have almost $2,400 extra in tax savings each year. Many families could use this money to save for college, pay down the mortgage, or perhaps invest in a new business.

We wish President Clark luck in making progress towards all three of his imperatives at BYU-Idaho. We also hope the legislature can focus on improving productivity instead increasing spending. Remember it’s the mileage that counts, not the price of gas.