Hey, America: We Have Too Many Teachers

President Obama wants Congress to send more money to states so they can "rehire even more teachers" and help America educate its way to prosperity. But Cato Institute education guru Andrew Coulson thinks it's time to do the exact opposite. "America's public schools have warehoused 3 million people in jobs that do little to improve student achievement," he argues in the Wall Street Journal. Since 1970, the public school workforce has nearly doubled, even though enrollment is only up 8.5%.

But surely more teachers mean better outcomes, right? Nope. According to Coulson, the National Assessment of Education Progress since the '70s shows stagnation or decline in reading, math, and science. He thinks it's time we scaled back education spending, and shifted students into more efficient private schools. "We have already tried President Obama's education solution over a time period and on a scale that he could not hope to replicate today," he concludes. "And it has proven an expensive and tragic failure." Click for Coulson's full column. (More teachers stories.)