Where are we headed?

I am wondering where are we heading? It seems as if politicians don't really care if they fund education or they want to throw money at something that isn't working. I am wondering when do we give money to schools that are working. Why aren't we supporting programs that are engaging student and are producing students who can read, write, and think?
It seems we are very hung up on a test and the scores of the test. Is that how we have always gauges the success of students? I sat in a meeting this week, where I heard someone say all students should be college ready and go to college when they are finished with high school. I replied, " Are you really serious?" He was and I promptly went on to explain my way of thinking. Not all student will ever be college ready when they graduate and it is not fair to expect them to be. We have been limiting students for years by getting rid of the programs that met their needs. They needed shop and automotive, as well as other programs that got them ready to go to work. But we stopped tracking and put all students in the same class on the same track. Why? Because we didn't have the money to continue the way we were, so we put all kids into the same box. We need to have realistic expectations and stop forcing kids into the molds we want them to be in.
I was not well received, needless to say but it gave everyone something to think about.