Lovin the Library

You know how I can tell it is finals time? I have spent 20 of the last 48 hours at the library. This makes me wonder how effective our current school system is: it seems to be hard for most students to retain information. Thus, for cumulative finals, you have students basically trying to re-learn everything they already learned once, except they try to do it all in a few nights, rather than a semester. I am no expert, but i do believe that there is another, more effective way to teach classes in college, and, for that matter, high school. Our education levels in America have steadily declined as compared to other countries, so would a complete overhaul of the way we educate our young populace turn this around?