"Han" wrote
The answer is not throw money at it. I realize you're not supporting
that notion. The answer is more parent involvement and some way to
encourage the kids to learn. Of course the current economy doesn't
really encourage learning much, but somehow the alternative of going on
the dole needs to be discouraged for those who can work/learn. Of course
also, teachers need to transfer enthousiasm to the kids, and those who do
that need to be rewarded, not fired.

I have a theory and I'm blaming some of my generation for the problems. I
was in high school in the early 60's. There was an unpopular war going on
at the time and a lot of kids did not want to go. They went on to college
and got deferments. They went on to teaching and got more deferments. Now
you have a lot of draft dodging teachers coming into the school system
diluting the good teachers of the past. Over time, some of them went on to
become school administrators. That hurt the system even more.

Sadly, a portion of my generation did not do such a great job of raising
children. They just want to be "free spirits" and allow the kids to be the
same, as long as we don't hurt their self esteem.