What is wrong with the American educational system?

The United States has thousands of school districts. Some schools perform very poorly while others graduate students with outstanding credentials.

The mistaken assumption is that the schools "give" their students an education. The schools provide the structure for the educational process, but learning is interactive. Many factors will affect whether the school system will be effective or fail miserably.

The most critical effect on learning is parental influence. Parents that place a high priority on education will be invested in their children's academic career. They will provide extra learning opportunities and carefully monitor progress. They will insist that their children treat school and studying with respect.

However, a parent that does not place much value on education may not be as supportive of their child's efforts at school. Their attitudes about school will be passed along to their children. A school full of students that have little interest being there will result in a disruptive situation.

My daughters have been in many school districts due to frequent moves. I have seen a broad range of schools over the years. At the worst school(and fortunately only for 2 months), I would hear the teachers screaming up and down the hallways and their students were entirely out of control. As a 3rd grader, my older daughter came home with 5 hours worth of homework each night because nothing was being accomplished during the school day. The best school (in New Jersey) had very intense students and the parents demanded that their children be challenged. I had never seen such hard working students before. My daughters came away from that experience with very strong study skills. One just completed graduate school in engineering and the other is about to enter graduate school to study neuroscience.

The question "what is wrong with the American educational system" is loaded with the assumption that there IS something wrong with the entirety of the system. The American school system certainly is very important toward educating our youth. However, schools and hard working teachers need the support of the families and the community to motivate students to optimize their own potential.

Obvious answer: It fails to adequately educate its students. Illiterates manage to graduate.

Oh! May be they are foreigners and living outside of USA

Seems they have more time to use Internet and this way also to make questions.