If anything is the epitome of inefficiency and ineffectiveness, it is the sprawling bureaucratic behemoth called “public education in America.” America throws nearly $15000 of public money per year at each student from elementary school through college, according to 2011 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development statistics. This ties us with Switzerland for greatest spending. This is all for naught, for it is shameful that American students test to be merely average in math, reading, and science. It cannot be acceptable that many other nations are achieving much more with much less.

The solution is not for educators to scream for more funding, and it is not for federal, state, and local governments to throw more at them. Our schools are not making the most of the extraordinary resources our taxpayers are providing already. Cultural standards with regards to education are set much too low, and deplorable performance by our public schools has become an expectation. There does exist a silver bullet to fix this and to better prepare our children for an increasing competitive world and global economy: the installment of a private voucher system, which would foster competition and a true “race to the top.”

A private voucher system would introduce greater choice for parents wishing truly exceptional education for their children. Such a system would more effectively motivate performance under an environment of competition. The losers, the schools failing to provide a useful and effective education, would see their funding dry up and would die off as a result. Winners would grow in size and popularity and thus secure greater funding and resources, and more and more children would be competently served. The result? A boom in quality across the board. America cannot refuse such a proposition.