You know the story: Spending on schools soars, achievement is stagnant, and the education establishment calls for ... more money.

So what other options are there? The Goldwater Institute offers four bold steps that Arizona ought to take:

1. Measure teacher effectiveness. Right now, teachers are paid on time in service and number of college credits they have--not how well they do.

2. Get serious about measuring student performance. The state's current test is not transparent. Further, the state has been grading schools on a curve, letting standards slip.

3. Speaking of schools, focus on schools. Abolish districts.

4. Create a school choice environment that is large enough to have an effect on public schools as a whole. 

(Find a link to the report here.)