Is $600 Billion Enough?

Several storms are converging to create a hurricane of educational instability: sharply declining revenues, intense international competition, outdated approaches to teaching and learning, and a significant achievement gap between white students and their African- American and Hispanic peers. In 1971 the average reading score for nine-year-olds on the National Assessment of Educational Progress was 208 (on a scale of O to 500); in 2009 it was 221, an improvement, yes, but still mediocre at best. [...] it appears that the longer students stay in school, the smaller the learning gains.