Decline of Schools & Removal of Prayer correlation

When did prayer in public schools get officially removed as a school led process?  When did public schools begin to decline in America?  Ever wondered about the two being related?  

Proverbs 2 is a chapter on wisdom.  [My most thought-provoking parts are underlined; these helped me form my opinion about homeschooling.]

The Benefit of Wisdom

2 My son,
    if you take my words to heart
        and treasure my commands within you,
²     if you pay close attention to wisdom,
        and let your mind reach for understanding,
³     if indeed you call out for insight,
    if you ask aloud for understanding,
⁴     if you search for wisdom as if it were money
        and hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure,
⁵     then you will understand the fear of the Lord
        and you will find the knowledge of God.
⁶     The Lord gives wisdom.
        From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷             He has reserved priceless wisdom for decent people.
    

¹⁰     Wisdom will come into your heart.
    Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹     Foresight will protect you.
    Understanding will guard you.

¹²     Wisdom will save you
        from the way of evil,
        from the person who speaks devious things,
¹³         from those who abandon the paths of righteousness
            to walk the ways of darkness,
¹⁴         from those who enjoy doing evil,
        from those who find joy in the deviousness of evil.
¹⁵             Their paths are crooked.
            Their ways are devious.

If we look at the words I've underlined, you will see a correlation of praying / calling out to God and loving God/Wisdom.  In 1963, prayer was officially removed as a school or teacher led activity.  This proverb says 'call out' and 'ask aloud' as in PRAYER for wisdom because The LORD gives wisdom, and he has it reserved for decent people!  Home educators can often 'brag' that their kids love learning; in fact that is one of the main reasons to home school.  "Knowledge will be pleasant." is one of the sentences in this proverb.  WE LOVE LEARNING!!!!  

Not surprisingly others have made this correlation before me, but as I was reading a 'poster' on homeschooling, I again faced a realization that maybe homeschoolers have 'call[ed] out' and 'asked aloud' for wisdom, and we treasure / search for it on behalf of our children???  I pray with my children daily that they will be 'wise beyond their years'.  Here is the poster I was reviewing:

POSTER comparing / contrasting public & home schools

When did schools begin to decline was my next pressing question?  Here is the first website I ran across to assist me with my answer:  The Decline & Fall of American Schools.  One quote from the site:  All signs point to a deterioration in the quality of American schools. Europeans and Asians alike have rapidly expanded their educational systems over the last 50 years. In the United States stagnation if not decline has been apparent at least since the 1970s. 

Here is a GREAT summary of exactly what I was thinking; on the website, the author also pulls in society's issues as well when prayer was removed.  To read the full site's thoughts:  In Plain Site

Education

1. The educational standard of measure has been the SAT scores. SAT scores had been steady for many years before 1963. From 1963 they rapidly declined for 18 consecutive years, even though the same test has been used since 1941.
2. In 1974-75 the rate of decline of the SAT scores decreased, even though they continued to decline. That was when there was an explosion of private religious schools. There were only 1000 Christian schools in 1965. Between 1974 to 1984 they increased to 32,000.

a. That could have an impact if the private schools had higher SAT scores. In checking with the SAT Board it was found that indeed the SAT scores for private schools were nearly 100 points higher than public schools.
b. In fact the scores were at the point where the public schools had been before their decline started in 1963 when prayer and Bible reading/ instruction was removed from the schools.
c. The scores in the public schools were still declining.
3. Of the nation's top academic scholars, three times as many come from private religious schools, which operate on one-third the funds as do the public schools.

Obviously he is pleading the case for private schooling.  Prayer is a daily happening in the private school where I taught!  Often we prayed multiple times:  teachers prayed before school began for the students, after the start of the school in first period for the students' requests, before lunch over our food, and before chapel services twice a week.  

In my experience with home education, and in the two home school support groups and co-ops that I belong to, the vast majority is Christian.  I can see the mothers 'call[ing] out' to God for wisdom, blessings, favor, and more on behalf of, and with, their children.  Moms pray for specific needs to be answered with their children, for the right curriculum to be utilized which will inspire and educate, and for godly character and values to be instilled into our children.  

Do you think there is a correlation between public school's lack of prayer and the decline of society, specifically the educational system?  Would you consider the thought that prayer is what makes the private and home education options more successful?  Do your kids LOVE to learn? LOVE school?