You cannot simply put more money into the same system and get better results, so we will need to reform and in... — Rob McKenna

You cannot simply put more money into the same system and get better results, so we will need to reform and innovate in the delivery of education.

Author: Rob McKenna

Insight: We've all watched this happen: throw more resources at a broken process and somehow expect different outcomes. It's like pouring premium gas into an engine with a seized valve—the fuel quality doesn't fix the fundamental problem. In education, we've seen this play out for decades. More funding matters, sure, but if the underlying structure remains unchanged—the way classes are organized, how teachers are trained, what gets measured—extra money mostly just makes the broken system slightly more expensive to run. What makes this insight stick is how it applies beyond schools. We see the same pattern in healthcare systems that add more beds without rethinking patient flow, or companies that hire more staff without changing dysfunctional workflows. The uncomfortable truth is that innovation demands something harder than writing a check: it requires rethinking how things actually work. The non-obvious part? Sometimes accepting this means we need less of something before we can add more of something else. Better education might mean fewer standardized tests so teachers can actually teach differently. Fewer administrators so resources flow to classrooms. Real reform isn't just additive—it's often about making difficult choices about what to stop doing, not just what to start.