Its a little hard for me to imagine the problems with America's schools, because I went to a high school where our validictorian graduated with a 4.6, or something equally impossible...and the top 100 students were all 3.7 or higher. It was extremely difficult to have a high rank if you were not enrolled in LEAP or all AP classes. Many students took several dual-credit classes, and maybe half of the senior class graduated early. It was really hard to imagine anyone in FMHS behind in reading or writing, because everyone was AHEAD of the curriculum. Also, the school had more than adequate funding, due to the high TAKS and SAT scores. We had over 35 Merit scholar finalists and 70 semi-finalists. The school was a really good school. However, if I had stayed in North Carolina for high school it would have been a much different story. In the small town I lived in, Gastonia, outside Charlotte, the graduation rate isn't as high as FMHS. Maybe 70% of the students graduated. Many of the students drop out to help in the family business or move to the big city. So I consider myself lucky to attend a school with such good funding and opportunities.