The Core Problem in American Schools

OECD:

On average, primary school teachers spend almost 1 100 hours a year teaching (the OECD average is 790 hours); lower secondary teachers teach for about 1 070 hours a year (the OECD average is 709 hours); and upper secondary school teachers spend about 1 050 hours a year in the classroom (the OECD average is 664 hours). In most OECD countries, the number of hours of teaching per year tends to decrease as the level of education rises; but in the United States, the number of teaching hours is roughly the same in primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education.

It makes everything harder -- for no apparent savings in the end.