In terms of actual solutions, I think programs like KIPP are promising. If someone can demonstrate the right way to run a school system on a small scale, we can learn from it and encourage adoption of those changes nationally.
KIPP does well, but it is very much at odds with the way a normal school is run. KIPP schools demand a hell of a lot from the teachers who work there. You need people of high ability and dedication who are mostly motivated by the intrinsic reward of a job done well. These people are like the Special Forces of education, and I don't think there are that many of them. I'd love to be wrong.
It's true that you cannot mass replicate a system that depends on exceptional people.
It's sort of like vast quantities of high quality goods were not produced until people figured out how to produce such without requiring highly skilled craftsmen.
