What is it like being an alumni of a school that’s underfunded or neglected? Even if the school is “good” (as in well funded or private), does the learning environment reflect that? Also, the dark side of American schools (shootings) dampens peace of mind for parents since at any given moment some gun wielding individual can storm in murdering those inside (students, teachers, custodians, etc.)
I look at your post with a bit of suspicion- do you want to learn something, or do you just want to talk negatively about America and provoke others to join in? There are terrible and absolutely fantastic schools from infant care to postgraduate education. Many of the world’s best universities are in America. About half of the students in those universities come from American schools. The US has by far the highest number of Nobel laureates, many of whom immigrated after previous education abroad, but not all.
While it is difficult to say anything general about K12 education in a continent-spanning country consisting of 50 states, I wouldn’t summarize it in one word as “crap”.
It’s more honest to compare the American education system to itself over the years. Has it significantly improved or worsened over the past few decades?
The strongest evidence-based conclusion is this: the American school system has improved on attainment and spending, but not consistently on academic achievement; and by the most important recent measures, it has degraded, especially for low-performing students. In plain terms, the system became better at producing diplomas and credentials than at reliably improving literacy and numeracy.
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/coi/high-school-graduation-rates
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmb/public-school-expenditure
https://www.nagb.gov/powered-by-naep/the-2024-nations-report-card/10-takeaways-from-2024-naep-results.html
Personal anecdotes from someone with ties to academia: