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When the country was founded, there were no public schools.

BZZT. Thanks for playing. Pennsylvania's state constitution (1785) called for the establishment of public schools, and by the 1820s there were public schools all over the place. The first publicly funded school was founded in Boston in 1635. Thomas Jefferson was a supporter of public education as far back as the 1770s.

If you're gonna be against public education, fine, but be honest and informed about it. Your idyllic time never existed.

Snidely

Let me ammend my statement to satisfy your inner pedant: When the country was founded, publicly-funded schools for the poor existed in Massachussets, but no where else. Pennsylvania established free public education, but only for the poor, in 1790 (note: not 1785.) Private businessmen in New York set up a Society to provide free public eduction for the poor in 1805. The first public High School in the country was opened in Massachussets in 1820.

Nevertheless, I stand by my original statement, since there were no public schools as we understand the term today, when the country was founded--since the Massachussets publicly-funded schools for the poor definitely do not satisfy the modern definition of the term 'public school.' And the universal availability of publicly-funded education for all citizens was not fully in place until the late 19th century.

But the main point I wish to make is that as universal public education has become more prevalent, and as the amount of public money allocated to education, as a percentage of GDP, has increased, the average educational achievement and proficiency levels of the students have decreased. Most college graduates could not pass the High School graduation tests of 100 years ago.