And, then there are those who choose homeschooling and private schools.
We’ll see where those students end up.
BTW, I totally agree with you on merit pay. We need incentives for teachers who perform well.
Homeschooling and private schools are just impractical here in NJ, where you have to raise $10K just to pay your property taxes (most of which are school taxes). Private schools have a problem attracting talented teachers because the pay scale of public school teachers draws most educators into that scam; their costs are through the roof as well. The Catholic Church has not made education a priority in this very Catholic area; most Catholic schools from my childhood are closed, despite the fact that most our immigrants are Catholic. This probably contributes to their lack of Mass attendance and vocations as well, but they are short-sighted in their solution.