ABSTRACT
Continuous Quality Improvement requires the optimization of the entire system by understanding the interdependency among all its components. An example of a dependency on treating symptoms is our emphasis on building more prisons rather than trying to address the root causes of criminal behavior in society. Significant improvements in quality will only come about when the author addresses all major sources of variation for differences among students, even those variations outside what the view as the educational system. Continuous Quality Improvement requires an organization to identify its processes and then work to continually improve them. Even though Japan imported quality management, the Japanese have made significant contributions to its philosophy. Quality assurance at the end of learning is wasteful because it ultimately increases the costs of both time and money in correcting defects.
