I'm surprised that none of the apologists for the failed government school system haven't asked for what could be better.
First, let's apply what made America the shining example to the world: liberty, freedom.
Vouchers, with education funds going with the student, not to the system.
That would fuel charter schools, home schooling, private schools, vocational schools, all sorts of variations on the theme.
And, let's remember how much better parochial schools do than government schools.
- Many families favored the safety, discipline, and attention to character development in addition to academics, but would have to continue paying public school property taxes in addition to tuition.
- Teacher unions opposed any aid to schools that were not unionized.
- Urban parochial schools were serving a growing share of disadvantaged and frequently non-Catholic youngsters. In a study published in 1990, for example, the Rand Corporation found that, of the Catholic school students in these Catholic high schools in New York City, 75 to 90 percent were black or Hispanic.
Over 66 percent of the Catholic school graduates received the New York State Regents diploma to signify completion of an academically demanding college preparatory curriculum, while only about 5 percent of the public school students received this distinction;
The Catholic high schools graduated 95 percent of their students each year, while the public schools graduated slightly more 50 percent of their senior class;
The Catholic school students achieved an average combined SAT score of 803, while the public school students' average combined SAT score was 642;
60 percent of the Catholic school black students scored above the national average for black students on the SAT, and over 70 percent of public school black students scored below the same national average.
« More recent studies confirm these observations.
http://www.heritage.org/research/urbanissues/bg1128.cfm
"Classes in Catholic parochial schools tended to be larger than in private schools in general. More than 62 percent of the Catholic parochial schools had an average class size of 25 or more, a substantially higher proportion than private schools overall (36 percent)."
"Catholic schools are attractive to non-Catholics for several reasons, parents and Catholic educators say. They offer the close supervision and small classes of private schools at a fraction of the cost - often as little as $1,000 a year. Most important, along with academics, many parents say, is that Catholic schools provide discipline and instruct students in morals and values through their religious teaching."
More Non-Catholic Students Trying Catholic Schools (Published 1987)
www.statista.com
