So, I've heard the American public schooling system ragged on a lot for its poor quality (particularly in math), even having seen some articles that try to explain how and why it's flawed (links at the bottom of this post). Though what's always left me confused is why students from, say, Finland (which ranks way higher than the US worldwide on education) would study abroad in America. Besides interest in our culture.
I'm no fan of the public school system, myself, but this always left me scratching my head.
Links:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/why-americans-stink-at-math/
http://www.districtadministration.com/article/united-states-receives-average-rankings-pisa
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/opinion/how-to-fix-our-math-education.html?_r=0