Exasperating.  Our schools are well staffed with excellent teachers so to start that is not the problem.  I would venture our teachers have plenty to say about such statistics and I wonder how much voice they are given?  I am a teacher by education at bachelor level and after a couple years, 30 years ago, realized it was not my calling but I have huge respect for those called to educate.  From my perspective though I would throw out that we focus far to much on fluff and not enough on the basics - also, not every student is wired for a STEM career, yet what I see is far too many eggs in that basket.  Our nation is experiencing a grave shortage of good technicians in all fields from welding, to CAD drafting and everything in between.  Give students solid intensive basics at the grammar level, making sure of mastery in basic mathematics, writing and reading before hitting them with chemistry, physics and computer programming. Then channel them based on their interests and strengths.