I've mentioned before that in addition to spending more on K-12 per student than any other larger country, we also send far more grad to college.
In Europe, college is attended by under 40% of HS grads, here it's nearly 70%. It may be our egalitarian instincts misled us.
In Europe, you also take courses directly related to your major, if you major in chemistry, you don't take English and social studies and history in college, it's chemistry only and perhaps some physics and math. So, their students are far more focused than ours. They were supposed to have learned history in HS.
College is a remedial program for many who are admitted to learn, or try, what they didn't in HS.