I live in one of the best school districts in the nation, in an affluent suburb. The five years of schooling my child has had so far could easily have been condensed into 2 years. Repetition (which I realize is needed to some extent for memorization and skill to develop) and preparation for standardized tests takes up most of the time. Add in the fact that standards for passing are ridiculously low. Add in the political correctness (don't get me started on the focus on "environmentalism" and being "eco-friendly"). I can only imagine what it would be like if we lived in an "average" area.

I'm tired of this crap. I'll be supplementing my child's public school education starting this summer. My hope is for him to be able to graduate high school as a sophomore. If you think that's unreasonable or that I'm a slave driver, you haven't paid much attention to how easy school is. And my child is one of the smart ones.

Final note -- I have nothing but praise for teachers and others in school who do their best to encourage, motivate and teach their students while putting up with the bureaucracy and system that straitjackets them.

The biggest cause of tuition increase is simply the availability of larger and larger loans through government programs. This acts as a dis-incentive for schools to keep costs down. When a school decides it wants a new building, or wants to hire some additional staff, it bumps up the tuition a little to cover the costs. People grumble about it, but the loans are there to cover the costs, so they suck it up and pay because they want the diploma. Rinse, lather, repeat.

It's kind of like the recent housing bubble. Demand was there, loans were available, and so despite the grumbling in some quarters people went ahead and bought. And just like any bubble, this won't end well.

Thomas