Reply to S/O High SES students will perform well no matter their peer group

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Reply to "S/O High SES students will perform well no matter their peer group"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I agree with PP that public schools are designed to teach the average masses.  If your child falls outside of that average- for whatever reason- you might need to either (1) gain special accommodations for your child or (2) find a different school. DC schools do not seem to be in the business of accommodations for extremely advanced and/or gifted kids. So kids in this category might have to look elsewhere.  It isn't the big deal that people make it out to be.  Like everything else in life, you need or want something different than the basic (free) option, pay for the upgrade.[/quote]

Respectfully, the answer is simpler than this, and has been implemented for at least 100 years in US public schools, so it is more than doable:  track the studentsw.  DCPS has reversed this practice and decided to immerse all income brackets into mainstream classes (example: "honors for all" at Wilson) in the hope that will "lift up all boats."  In contrast, anyone who has experienced public education in the US knows the truth:  not all boats will be lifted, as students with ability to achieve well academically are locked in at about 20% (my shorthand estimate) of any cohort.  As we all know, some of that top 20%'s abilities are lost due to circumstances at home and disruptive classes.  If DCPS were to aggressively "track" students by ability by creating access to advanced classes across the board, it could separate this top 20% from the average students, and offer the best of them advanced coursework, whether they've presently tested in, or not.  Just take the cream from the top of all classes: Academically inclined students will eventually achieve academically if given the opportunity to enter the advanced class and work hard.   I have no doubt this would work, but DCPS is blinded by the optics.[/quote]

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