Megan McArdle writes:

I find it maddening how many upper middle class parents energetically "support public education" against the depredations of vouchers and other reforms, while moving their own children into better school districts or better programs. ...

There’s some fair points here. Inequality in public education is a real problem in this country, and those with the best education often do – intentionally or not – work to keep the system the way it is. In many ways, Megan is correct that suburban parents in upper income areas basically already send their kids to private schools. Which is one reason why so many Americans are happy with the education their kids receive.

Year after year, Gallup finds that American parents think very highly of their own schools, while giving the school system as a whole a failing grade. I think this is largely because the media narrative makes everyone think that most American schools are just horrible, failing disasters – when in reality, it tends to be poor urban (and rural) schools that have the vast share of problems.