Neither do I.
I'm not sure that there is any one answer, or any one way to do any of the above, at least not in every case.
We could give some of the kids a chance by decentralization and choice. Each school site should have a council of teachers and parents, whose job it is to set standards for student achievement and behavior. Parents, then, could choose to send their child there, or somewhere else, but would have to abide by the school's standards.
Parents who won't make their child work, and students who aren't there to learn, would have to go elsewhere.
Of course, those schools with low standards would have a very difficult situation, but those parents who do support their children, and those children who haven't given up on life, would have a chance. As it is now, chances for success in poorly performing schools is very limited.
And, that is neither fair to the kids, nor a way to succeed as a nation.
