If there's a blank check from the govt, requirements will change, prices will go up, and/or class sizes will increase.
The data from Europe suggests the opposite is true though, natedagg. I think that's important to consider. However, I wholeheartedly agree with
@MRMsix6 's point that we shouldn't have 90% of kids going to college; that's absurd. A system like Germany, that reforms education from middle school on to provide a skill/trade is a very good model.
All the govt will do is stifle innovation.
Why do you think this? Government is often the root cause of innovation, especially in academia. When government stops spending money, the most advanced research and development programs tend to shut down.
The next education breakthrough will be online learning. It's really already here. We need classes to teach the basics, but after that, specialization can be learned so quickly thru modules online, and students can be grouped without proximity, by subject and ability, since collaboration is a great skill.
When I was earning my masters at University of Hawaii, one of the things I did was teach undergrad students math and astronomy as an assistant instructor. To say that online education is the wave of the future, I think, ignores the fact that most people are not efficient at self-teaching and self-learning. Many people need to be coaxed, through various methods, into not only learning various skills but even to conceptualize specific problems.
I don't think you can really transition to a predominantly online educational system and expect equal or better results.
And we should drop math after algebra for computer science and coding,
I... disagree. Call me biased, but I think math is logic and logic is the essence of structured programming and problem solving. If you are an excellent programmer, you're probably have an aptitude for math and logic. I think the reverse is also true.
history could be SO much better (less wrote memorization),
Learning history
is inherently memorization.
English should branch out to: debate, creative writing, English history/literature,
So long as literature comes first... I learned so much reading what others have said long before I was born, rather than opening my mouth and blurting out whatever I felt. High schoolers learning to debate is useful for learning critical thinking and articulation; but there should be equal time listening to the wisdom found in great works of literature.
and then everyone should have to solve one fucking problem. Just do ONE thing in HS that isn't just laid out for you to memorize.
/rant
I agree with you in general though. The way high school is structured is too oriented towards memorization solely with the goal of passing a test. That's unfortunate. Instead of teach concepts, they are teaching the skill of short-term memory retention with or without ever understanding the material.