Bush on target

Re the June 12 letter, What’s the problem with American education?: Ralph Remis takes former Gov. Jeb Bush to task for suggesting that schools have more real local control when the industrialized countries that beat U.S. students on math, reading and science tests “all...have highly centralized school systems.”

All of them except Canada, which is almost completely decentralized on education policy. Most decisions are made at the provincial and school levels. And Finland, where schools can interpret national education standards broadly. And Sweden, which offers state-sponsored universal school choice, even to private religious schools.

Joy Pullmann, education research fellow, Heartland Institute, Chicago