Re: Math, chemistry, engineering?
The "good old days" in education seemed to work pretty well. I don't know what the real function of our public school system is today, but it seems pretty obvious that actual education isn't on the top of the list.
Just as an aside, in California we're spending twice per student what we were in 1970, and with arguably worse results (constant dollars). The foundational thesis of our local teacher unions seems to be that education quality is directly proportional to money spent There is no evidence whatsoever for this. In fact, circumstantial evidence shows precisely the opposite.