The average student across the U.S. will lose $70,000 in earnings over their lifetime if something isn't done to offset the learning loss.
Schools systems now have a lot of federal money available to them and that money could be used to provide the incentives, Hanushek said. The money could also be used to buy out the contracts of the least effective teachers, he said. GDP is expected to be about 1.4 percent lower each year in California over the rest of the century than it would be if the learning loss did not occur, according to the study. In dollar terms, the loss comes to $1.3 trillion through 2099.