Next we have homework. Simply put, our children don't do any. The norm in the rest of the Western World is two hours or more a day. Our kids do one fifth that, or two hours a week. It's no wonder we're lagging behind.
Homework does two things.
Open books at home helps involve parents. That's leads into the next problem. Parental involvement is lacking almost to the point of being nonexistent. In the Head Start program, each school has a panel of parents and teachers, and this panel exerts real influence over the school. The school administrators answer directly to the panel, and the panel answers to the school board.