As long as you've taken science/math in school, you should be able to piece it together. No one uses imperial units for computation really, especially in academia. Also if you say 17 KMPH, most will read it as 17 kilometers per hour..even those steeped in the metric system. Please attack the American education system in general and "no child left behind" instead of our choice of distance/speed units on road signs.
I'm an american and I'm generally agreeing with you but our education system is trash mostly because of consistently lowering standards just so everyone passes. Don't get me started on the funding and peivate/charter schools though.