At least that is the opinion of Americans according to a poll released by the Associated Press and Stanford University earlier this month. This archived AP article gives you the overview, finding that basically, Americans feel that getting rid of poorly performing teachers and principals should be easier, and that pay for effective teachers is too low.
If you're a research nerd like me, you can see the full results of the survey here in this 42-page pdf document. The survey asks about several topics related to public opinion on education and might be worth a scan. For example, respondents see the link between education and a country's economic prosperity, and when asked who is to blame for problems facing education they spread the blame around, with parents at the top of the list, followed state and federal education officials.