This article critically examines the prevalent economic conceptions of educational productivity. It distinguishes between an approach aiming at enhancing allocative efficiency and one aiming to better use each available resource (technical efficiency). The article then examines the intellectual foundations of these two approaches, investigates how they stand in relation to each other, and points to their limitations from an educational perspective. It is argued that the two approaches are ill suited for the educational domain. The article concludes by suggesting an approach for increasing educational productivity based on reaching predetermined production objectives rather than attempting to maximise it.