US has 2 school sytems: One for the Poor and one for the Rest. Schools with 25% or less of poor are rated BEST IN THE WORLD

http://www.alternet.org/education/reality-tale-two-education-systems-one-poor-and-one-rest?akid=12676.294211.GEX-YY&rd=1&src=newsletter1030116&t=9

New data reveals our public—not private—school system is among the best in the world. In fact, except for the debilitating effects of poverty, our public school system may be the best in the world.

The most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reveal that the U.S. ranked high, relative to other OECD countries, in reading, math, and science (especially in reading, and in all areas better in 4th grade than in 8th grade). Some U.S. private schools were included, but a separate evaluation was done for Florida, in public schools only, and their results were higher than the U.S. average.

Perhaps most significant in the NCES reading results is that schools with less than 25% free-lunch eligibilityscored higher than the average in ALL OTHER COUNTRIES.

The Obvious: Reduce Poverty and Improve Education.