Some things I'd look at:<p>Stop isolating people in class rooms, and get them out, at least part of the day, involved with their interests with companies pursuing them.<p>Shift some of the responsibility for paying for highly skilled workers back to where it used to be, companies that use them.<p>Invest more money in education, and reap the benefits in lower crime rates and less unemployment.<p>Stop punishing boys, especially minorities, with suspensions for class room disruption when they aren't able to sit quietly at their desks. Instead provide opportunities for them to engage actively with their learning.<p>Smaller classroom sizes, which have been linked with higher grades.<p>Restore funding for the arts and sciences, both of which have been cut in favor of increased support for reading, composition and math because of standardized tests.<p>Or maybe you want to talk about College?<p>Require colleges to give preferences for merit based scholarships to those with actual financial hardship, instead of the current practice of subsidizing middle class students because it's more lucrative to give 20k at 4 people who's parents can pay the rest, instead of 80k to one person.<p>Again, connect classroom content with actual work, and actual research.<p>Provide a no cost college education to any citizen that wants it, like many countries in europe. Have college applications be based on the best school a kid can get into, instead of the best they can afford.