Were we serious about efforts to improve public education, one of the first things we would do is eliminate schools of education.
Williams is correct, as was Sowell 20 years ago, on this point.
Increasing teacher pay or overall public school funding will improve public education, so long as the schools of education exist. Teachers with BA/EDU degrees get MA/EDU degrees, and some of them get PhD/EDU degrees, and perpetuate the cycle of mediocrity, with the teachers unions holding the taxpayers' children for ransom for more funding.
The only way to improve public education is to eliminate 100% of the funding, return the money to parents and let them decide where to spend their education dollars. Given a choice, parents with above-average IQ children will not willingly send them to below-average IQ teachers.
Increasing teacher pay or overall public school funding will "NOT" improve public education ...