Education is the most powerful long-term driving force of economic growth, and in order for the United States to maintain its economic dominance, it must invest heavily into its education. Education expenditures per pupil have been constantly rising for decades, but test scores don’t seem to be budging. This is because investing in education doesn’t mean throwing money at the problem.

Investing in education should be understood as using our time and resources to deliver a better education more efficiently. Nothing is more effective and efficient than a free market, and free markets are exactly what have been held back from education.

A free market education means an education driven by what the market demands. Teachers should be rewarded for their performance in the classroom instead of their tenure in it. Great teachers make the greatest difference, and teachers need more feedback in order to become great teachers. This means more accountability of administrators evaluating the teachers is needed.

While poverty is a negative factor in education, great teachers can make up for that set back. Charter school organizations such as Uncommon Schools have realized this and are taking advantage of training teachers with skills that help students succeed regardless of their economic status. Education is both a science and art that has received relatively little funding in regards to research on the effectiveness of teaching methods.

Secondary education is important, but the value of higher education should not be overlooked. Post-secondary education is often underestimated by many who receive it because they realize in many situations there is a lack of knowledge accumulated from their years of school work. A college degree is often just a piece of paper to them, but they still take it because that paper alone will provide them with better careers.

Because individuals attaining a higher education know they will likely receive higher incomes later in life, they are willing to make the investment with loans. It should be noted however that the contribution at the macro level of a society is almost always positive as well. This is why public universities have in the past been so heavily invested in by the states and why states should not cut their funding of public universities. Universities must be held accountable for their bloated administrative costs, and should preserve the administration budget at the expense of students.

Education is the foundation of the modern economy, and it is a foundation that needs constant upkeep and improvement. This can occur only when a society invests, financially and non-financially, in its schools and pursues to maximize its market efficiency.