Losing out on academic excellence

CNN had a great little tidbit today, a topic I've seen with increasing frequency of late -- that an American eduation is not worth what it once was.

This type of news is very bothersome to me, especially the little quote:
"In all levels of education, the United States spends $11,152 per student. That's the second highest amount, behind the $11,334 spent by Switzerland."

As this line points out, our problem is not related to spending, as the teachers' unions would like to tell you. It's related to our lowered expectations, possibly to protect the "self images" of students, and possibly related to trying to please parents who want to have every child be "exceptional."

What's the matter with challenging, traditional curricula that requires hard work?