Public Schools in the U.S.

I think one of the main reasons why our school systems are underachieving and continuously ranking poorly compared to other countries is because of disparity. Depending on were you live determines the level of education you will receive. For instance if you live in a nice suburban area you child will receive a good education were teachers are paid well and teach students to achieve their goals. But compared to living in a poorer rural area, the educational systems are in need of a makeover. Teachers salaries are low which causes schools to hire unqualified staff and many students end up dropping out well before graduation. For instance the average teacher salary for Montgomery County, MD, is 64,000. Montgomery County is were I grew up and it is a really nice suburban area to live. Then you have the state of South Dakota, were there average teacher salary is 34,709. So you wonder how can there be such a big gap between teacher salaries. It's not the Montgomery County is far superior because Maryland's average teacher salary is 54,324. So when you have such a disparity between it causes problems. This is why we have educational problems in the U.S. My suggestion is to put more funding in the poorer rural areas rather than the wealthier areas.

-References
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/vouchers/howbad/crisis.html
http://www.indeed.com/salary/q-Teacher-l-Montgomery-County,-MD.html
http://teacherportal.com/teacher-salaries-by-state