Are the Great American Schools dead?

In her new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Diane Ravitch blasts No Child Left Behind, which she says promotes "a cramped, mechanistic, profoundly anti-intellectual definition of education" —The education historian states that virtually every other recent reform effort that has sought to inject more free-market competition and accountability into education has failed. She finds much to dislike: charter schools, high-stakes tests, corporate-style school management teams and the rising influence of foundation-funded reforms.
Ravitch says charter schools, privately run but publicly funded, cherry-pick a neighborhood's best students and kick out under-performers, forcing surrounding public schools to teach a depleted talent pool.
Clearly I am not an education historian, yet I do have couple questions regarding Dr. Ravitch conclusions: First, every President since John Kennedy has challenged our schools to do a better job in Math and Science. During those 40 plus years our Math and Science scores have fallen woefully short when compared to other industrialized nations on the NAPE test. Second, according to a recent statement by the President, 1 million students drop out of our school yearly. More than 50% of these students are African American or Hispanic. Finally, Dr. Ravitch does not address the success of Englewood Urban Prep Academy for Young Men located in Chicago. Every graduating senior were accepted into a 4 year college. I could say more……..
What is your take?

Reasons

Recently I had a conversation with a group Ministers regarding what does it means to be religious. One of the ministers offer the following story to provide understanding to what it truly means to be religious: “A man heard the announcement that the city was under a flood watch and everyone should immediately leave their homes for a safe location. The said to a neighbor who was leaving his home, I am religious, God will save me. As the water began to rise, a man in a row boat called to the man to come to the boat and move to a save location. Again the man replied, I am religious, God will save me. Finally, as the current became more dangerous a man called from a helicopter for the man to climb the ladder and move to safety. Again the man replied, I am religious, God will save me. The man perishes in violent current of the water. The religious man asked God, Why didn’t you save me, I was a religious man? God replied, I sent you an announcement of the danger, I sent you a row boat and I sent you a helicopter. I do not understand why you are here? What an interesting analogy, being religious is not enough. It is the responsibility of mankind to use those gifts (talents) that God has given each of us to make decisions that will actually save our lives.
Lennon and McCartney stated it this way:
Day after day,
Alone on a hill,
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he's just a fool,
And he never gives an answer,

But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning 'round.

Well on the way,
Head in a cloud,
The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him,
or the sound he appears to make,
and he never seems to notice,

And nobody seems to like him,
they can tell what he wants to do,
and he never shows his feelings,

And he never listens to them,
He knows that they're the fools
They don't like him,