Worst schools in America

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is in the running to be named America's best urban district by the Broad Foundation. But who's the worst?
The Wall Street Journal's national education reporter, Stephanie Banchero, posed that question to the Education Writers Association listserve this afternoon (old-timers may remember Banchero as an Observer reporter in the early 1990s).
The inbox immediately lit up with an overwhelming consensus: Detroit. After all, how can you beat a school district where the board president resigned after fondling himself in a meeting with the female superintendent? As one reporter said, "If soap operas took place in school districts, the story lines would be based on Detroit."
Leadership isn't the only problem: On the "nation's report card" math and reading exams, Detroit's students land dead last among large urban districts.
For a more in-depth take on Detroit's educational woes, Education Week's Dakarai Aarons offers this "district dossier."
While no one took issue with Detroit's dubious distinction, Milwaukee, Chicago and Los Angeles also got some dishonorable mentions.