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Meanwhile in the USA, we have high schools that produce kids ready to become environmentalists, diversity consultants, and democratic party campaign operatives.

I had to laugh at this quotation. Truth be told, our high schools produce kids who are ready for...nothing. Our colleges aren't much better at the Freshman and Sophomore level. The simplest math (i.e., basic algebra) is well beyond them. Basic English exceeds their capabilities, even with all the tools that Microsoft Word provides. And they are so very satisfied with their profound ignorance.

Foreign students studying in US schools generally work a lot harder than our US students. A further point - US based BS. and BA degrees are generally perceived as being of less value than a great many offshore degrees.

The problem is that we've decided to do a lot of social work with education that does nothing to prepare the students for working in a global marketplace. Affirmative action is one small element. The idea that everyone should have the opportunity for higher education is another. The distribution curve dictates that most people are not capable to master advanced concepts - one winds up wasting limited resources on them, or lowers standards so that anyone who can convert oxygen to carbon dioxide can succeed. We're doing both. So on the one hand, we need to promote fair trade instead of free trade - but on the other hand, we need to realize that some children WILL be left behind.

My wife teaches technology in a GA high school. From what I have heard from her, in a 'typical' class there will be a handful of bright overachievers that are really sharp and mostly bored by the dull pace of school. Add to the mix a handful of special ed kids who would be thrilled to graduate knowing how to tie their shoes. The vast bulk of the class is made up of 'average' kids whose writing skills are atrocious and who hate math and literature and mostly just hang out doing the minimum until they can get home to microwave some food and continue hanging out.

So out of a class of 30, you might have 2 that will excel in a global marketplace, 25 that will go on to blue collar jobs or make fries, and 3 that will forever live on the incomes of the others. I suspect that in Japan and many other countries you would have a much larger percentage that will excel and a smaller number of french friers.

"Foreign students studying in US schools generally work a lot harder than our US students. "

That is because, as you pointed out later, US students don't have to work harder. They are given passes for just existing. The standards are lowered, thus not forcing US students to work to pass. Foreign students don't get that luxury.