The author notes that raising the school-leaving age and increasing the amount of spending per pupil have been extremely important public school reforms. However, he says, sizable improvements in school quality will only be evident when these two reforms are complemented by higher standards and...

Two of the most important reforms to American public schooling this century have been an increase in the minimum school-leaving age and a dramatic increase in expenditures per pupil. The first reform is generally acknowledged to have increased students' earnings later in life, while the second...