This is the peoblem with government monopolies and public unions... This is one of the result of this (checking the quality of teachers is another...)
But this isn't a problem of schools per se but of the organization of schools. This should be reformed...
Another example: I was born in France, where schools were excellent. Mathematic teachers had to have a degree in mathematics and a minor in education... When I came here, I couldn't believe what I was told, that all that was required of teachers was a degree... in education. So you could have a completely inept teacher in mathematics who never learned math but had a degree in education (I understand this is changing little by little)... This is stupid!
So the peoblem aren't schools but the fact that teachers' unions have had too free a hand in changing requirements to protect mediocre teachers...
Uh oh.....;^)
You should have got to your opinions about education theory and teacher's unions earlier in the thread, if you want my probably too late opinion.
BTW, I homeschooled my son until he was 13 yrs old. The only reason that I then enrolled him in school was that his Dad passed away and I had to work to keep us afloat. When they "tested" him, he was way above grade level and the school psychologist told me that she had "never met a more well adjusted child". That blows your theory away that homeschooled children are lacking.