[ari-freedom]

The Jeffersonians may not want to accept it but the countries that are beating us in math and science all have strong national standards.

[Yulee]

Most of those beating us up don't teach everyone. You only go to high school if you pass a national exam. Other than that you are moved into a occupational curriculum, and never take the test.

Also a lot of those same countries don't have public education, everyone has to pay.

Remember, until approximately WWI most countries had a defacto caste system, when who you were born to determined what occupation you might aspire to.

[hanamizu]

The Jeffersonians may not want to accept it but the countries that are beating us in math and science all have strong national standards.

Yes,that may well be true, but we Americans haven’t really had that discussion yet, have we. I seriously doubt that most FReepers want their schools’ curriculum set by the U.S. Dept. Of Education.