Stop Being Insane

Test scores from the recent Direct Math Assessment show a drop in the number of students who scored proficient or above compared to 2005-06. State Superintendent Tom Luna is asking for more tax money to address the problem. Wrong answer Tom. If more money would solve our math proficiency problem, then Idaho’s students should all be Einsteins. What the empirical data actually suggest is more money results in lower test scores. Since 1970, spending on public education has more than doubled while math achievement languished.

We don’t have a money problem, we have a monopoly problem. Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” It would be insane to continue to subsidize a system that has failed to produce results for three decades.

Why not let parents and a free market in education solve this problem? Imagine a system where parents could choose the best school for their children instead of bureaucrats in Boise. There is something deeply immoral about forcing parents to send their children to failing schools. By denying parents real choice in public education, we deprive children of the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

Imagine a system where local small business owners, motivated teachers, entrepreneurs and innovative companies like Apple or FedEx or Hewlett Packard could create new schools and provide more choices. Markets can add tremendous value to the public education system by creating specialized and personalized programs to meet individual student needs and learning styles.

If Mr. Luna wants to reverse this trend of declining achievement scores and increasing costs to the taxpayers before his next election, he needs to immediately offer a simple, no-hassle, opportunity scholarship to all families to help improve academic achievement. This would truly revitalize public education and incentivize the system with a focus on results not rhetoric. Real accountability can only be achieved through choice. If we expect progress based on common sense experience, we have to first stop being insane.