[looscnnn]

"There are, in fact, public schools (look at some select schools in Norhtern Virginia) that are better than any private ones. There are also some very bad ones."

I agree that there are some public schools that are very good, the one my kids attend is one of the best in the state. Ignorance is not facing facts and the fact is the quality of education that the majority of kids get today is not on par with what I got or my parents got. We are scoring in the middle of the pack when comparing literacy against other nations. See http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=15pisabox.h21 for the facts.

[kegler4]

I can't absolutely testify as to the quality of all the teaching my daughter gets but I can tell you she's at least as literate as I was at her age, and I can also tell you that she's taking stuff you couldn't even take when I was in school. For instance, she'll have more than a semester of college credit. That wasn't avilable when I went to the same high school she attends. And believe me, this is NOT one of the highest rated schools in the state. There are some things I definitely do not like about the school.

I looked at the chart you pointed me to, and while I would like to see the U.S. doing better than average, it is average in all three categories. You also realize, I assume, that a number of those countries above us put significantly more money per child into public education, not something that most conservatives think the U.S. should do. In fact, some of those countries above us are downright socialistic, almost even communistic. Still, they must be doing something right.

AND some of those countries test only their top and maybe middle tiers of students, while the U.S. tests nearly everybody, including kids who will never get above elementary school because of disabilities. In other words, these tests don't always compare apples to apples.

This is not to say U.S. public schools are the greatest. There are some really bad ones. But often what kids get out of it depends on how hard they try and how much support they get from home.