Kevin Smith, the director most renowned for the indie film Clerks, has always said that there's no such thing as a list of the best film schools. Because film schools can't actually teach you how to be a good director; you either have it, or you don't.
I think there's an element of truth to this. Directing is an art, and if you don't have an innate talent for it, then you won't be any good at that. The best film schools and education can't change it. It's no different than painting or sculpting; if you can't do it, you can't do it.
However, what the best film schools can do is teach how to take whatever latent talent you may possess and apply it to the best of your ability. Of course this is not a guarantee - even the University of Southern California, the University of California at Los Angeles, and New York University, largely considered the three best film schools in America can't guarantee that you'll be a rich and successful filmmaker. But what they can do is give you the tools to get there.
What are the tools that film schools should impart upon their students? The first is an understanding that, while film direction is an art, it is also a business. And that in business, it is never a good plan to burn bridges. Any person you meet, any contact you make, is potentially someone who can, either now or down the road, help you realize your dream of becoming a professional filmmaker. The best film schools don't actually teach classes in networking; the best film schools are networks. If you happen to get into a USC or a UCLA or an NYU, then you have the opportunity to meet become familiar with a generation of folks who will be running the film industry in the decades to come.
Then there is imparting an understanding of film itself. Many film schools don't require film criticism/cinema studies classes, but they should. Because if the idea of making a film is to either capture or subvert a given medium (and that's what all films intend, it's either one or the other), then it is important to understand all aspects of that medium. Think of it like Picasso - he didn't just splash random things on the canvas from the time he was a kid. He instead mastered and understood the techniques of pass masters, then went in his own direction (which in his case was largely subversion).
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