Originally Posted by ultramarina
I don't really have one opinion of "the public school system." It's too large of an entity. Even within one district--even within one school--my children's experiences have varied dramatically from year to year.

I agree completely. It's why I only answered the question with regard to how I feel it's servicing my specific DD's needs at this specific time. My response could change tomorrow.

The high school I attended would have, in NCLB days, been rated a failure. Yet except for my horrendous physics/calculus teacher, I received a high-quality education there. Based on that experience, I don't see any value in even rating public education at an institutional level, because individual outcomes will be so... individual.