Not sure how this fits in with lifetime earnings, but it is not just academics that hit these students. The socialization they have missed are crucial skills needed for being able to work together as a team, get on with people who have different interests or find difficult, how to get to know someone new, know what is suitable peer conversation topics, and how to behave in a classroom. I have heard from some in a classroom setting that children just don't pay attention not just to the lesson material, but to use indoor voices, sit quietly and not interrupt.

These life skills are necessary to maintain good working environments. Whether it is in an office environment or in a trade or service job, being able to intuitively work well with others is something that isolation prevents.

It seems as if Mr. Hanushek is using the pandemic and learning loss as a means to attack teachers: “The money could also be used to buy out the contracts of the least effective teachers”, and to rekindle an old idea that has gone nowhere in the past: "You provide incentives to your better teachers to take on more kids".

First off, at least in PAUSD, effective teachers often become targets for harassment and intimidation if they challenge what they see as ineffective policies emanating from 25 Churchill. Thus, there is an incentive to conform, and a disincentive to perform.

Second, the whole evaluation system in PAUSD is broken. “Bad teachers” get tenure because many administrators don’t know how to do evaluations anymore, or they simply don’t do them at all, as was the case at Greene recently.

Finally, there is a teacher shortage. Buying out contracts implies that there are qualified, effective teachers waiting in the wings. That is simply not the case.

Of course, one could argue it is the teacher’s union that is the problem, and it is safe to assume that Mr. Hanushek would take that track as well. Yet the union only protects teachers granted tenure by administration and the board. Often the union is protecting a teacher that has come under duress not for being ineffective, but for not playing along with district leaders that have lost touch with classroom realities.

So, to be fair, Mr. Hanushek should also look at other factors, like the effectiveness of district leadership, and how they treat their teaching staff. From my own experience, I can say that teachers are not treated very well unless they are able to curry favor with 25 Churchill. Classroom effectiveness is almost an afterthought unless there is a student and parent revolt against the teacher.