Schools are political systems. They always reflect the needs and priorities of the politicians that fund them.

Here are two excellent examples. In Wisconsin, cheese is a seriously important product to their economy. One year in school, every student needed to learn the importance of cheese. Now, why would they do that? It helps to reinforce the values of the business that is important to the politicians.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, a satellite capable of circling the earth. When they did, it sent a scare through the United States unlike anything until Sept. 11. Schools suddenly put math and science education at the top of the priority list, and education in general became a priority itself. When students of education study it today, they use Sputnik as a watershed year, much like historians use the Civil War or the American Revolution. This gives you a very clear idea of how and why schools change. When the politicians want schools to change, they do. They will pretty much always change in the exact way the politician wants, since she/her holds the purse strings to fund the education.

Given all that, however, the US still has the best education system, for its stated goal of equality for all citizens, than any other country. Most other countries only educate the elite students and allow the others to fall into the lower echelons of society. The US is about equality and though it never really can create that, it strives hard to do so and does a great job of giving most students the tools necessary for a successful life.