Every education professional and study will tell you that there is a bell curve distribution in every population or classroom. Those on one end of the curve are incapable of being educated and those at the other are incredibly successful regardless of the teacher and material. It isn't difficult to see which end of the curve the chronically ignorant were on and a Catholic Education probably wouldn't have helped them. I mean it utterly failed to teach the Catechism to some, the 3Rs probably wouldn't have been received any differently.
Your college degree is in what again?