Good post. I disagree that schools cant be profitable. The main reason they cant be profitable is because there are free alternatives. I have no disagreements about rural schools. You may just be stuck with what you got.

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Aren't vouchers just another approach to Pell Grants and student loans?

No they arent. You dont have to pay back vouchers. Take direct payments away from schools..return that money to the taxpayer(unless you dont pay taxes...then thank the next guy you see driving a nice car for funding your childs education).

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2. Comparing US test scores to foreign scores is comparing apples to custom grown square watermelons. We teach and test EVERYBODY who goes to school in this country, AND we send EVERYBODY to school. Only the best and brightest even get to go to school in many countries. While little Johnny Merican with a 78 IQ and his many similar friends are attempting to take the ACT (I am not shitting you), little Kim Wong with a 78 IQ is working in a lithium mine, sewing Nikes, or making Iphones.

Right now Johnny has no choice. Hes stuck in mandated daycare. Johnny has no use for English literature or Calculus. He needs to be learning a skill, and/or flipping burgers to make some money.

Schools also need choice. They need the strings cut from the doofuses on the board of education and superintendent who need to keep those funds rolling in from the state capitol and DC. They need to be able to tell kids who disrupt class...not to come back. No in school suspension...go find another school. These entitled parents that make teacher's lives hell...would be changing their tune with the quickness.

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3. The mass majority of Americans, regardless of their race or gender, are more concerned with the distance of the school from their workplace, the sports possibilities, or how "prestigious" the school appears, rather than actual results

Why? Because 8-3 model school sucks. If your kid is reasonably smart, he will be fine because all the other kids are subjected to the same shitty schooling. Public school A really is no different than public school B if the demographics are roughly the same.

Heres the thing...you are right about kids being prepared. Its not like American kids are like trained monkeys when compared to the rest of the world. Bridges still get built, roads paved, banks give out loans, new businesses open every day. People can get by with knowing how to read, write, do simple math(which some school systems cant teach in 13 years of mandated school). Ultimately school is a massive waste of time for the vast majority other than learning how to interact with and work with others.

My ultimate goal would be to make the education process...not a waste of time.