I think many of you are misunderstanding my point. I'm not saying math education is good or that students are well prepared. I'm saying that most students who succeed in HS will continue to succeed in college in spite of everything else. I definitely agree most freshmen students don't understand calculus in any deep way but most good students will by the time the are done with their freshman series. So again, I'm not defending the system, I'm nitpicking the argument :)
