Anonymous wrote:Considering that the majority of DCPS kids cannot read at grade level - the avg DC kid will never go to college or make anywhere near 100K.

You're an ass.

Bucknell. Franklin and Marshall. Colgate.

Anonymous wrote:Then why is there is arms race mentality to get in to Ivies and SLAC. Why not let kids have rich, rigorous, childhood knowing that smart kids will make it anyway

Because outside of the ivies are not about the education, they are about the connections and recruiters at those schools. Every year they turn away full classes of equally qualified candidates. The real problem is that the US has become like France and given an inordinate prestige and thus power to the alumni of these universities. They are not smarter or better, just empowered by our own obsessions.

My two boys are getting straight As right now in FCPS. I don't consider them gifted, sure they are bright, but not gifted. They had the chance to go into all honors classes and said no (except for a couple of classes that they are interested in). They want to play sports, work semi-hard in high school, have a girlfriend, go out on the weekends, and then go to college and be happy. I seriously am not worried that they aren't going to get into an Ivy school. Not one exec I know in my job went to an Ivy. I seriously don't think it matters all that much when you get into the workforce...you'll either be successful, or not. I went to a state university and am almost at the top of the ladder in my organization, and I think that's common.

The kids of my friends and neighbors who their parents would describe as average, meaning B's with a sprinkling of A's and C's go to...

WVU, ECU, costal carolina, radford, univerasity south carolina, salisbury, frostburg, montgomery college with a transfer to UMCP

There are a bunch that I would say are a bit above average but still not type A kids going to UMBC, Towson, JMU, Catholic, UMCP, Deleware,

Sorry I am on a phone .

Most of them probably end up at mid first tier universities or liberal arts colleges. From there, their success really depends on a combination of luck/hard work. Both my H and I went to a school like that. We have good jobs now mostly because of circumstance (right place, right time/great mentors who really helped us to get a leg up).

Then why is there is arms race mentality to get in to Ivies and SLAC. Why not let kids have rich, rigorous, childhood knowing that smart kids will make it anyway

What you find in this area are that many kids from middle and upper class homes that are average i.e. not at the top of the rigor bracket are still ahead of their peers in the rest of the country. For example a friend of mine living in Idaho just realized that they do not even offer Algebra in middle school only high school. It will be interesting to see how much the common core exposes these discrepancies.

Oh please. I work for a Fortune 500 company and can assure you many folks at the top did not go to elite colleges. They are indeed smart and effective at their jobs but not brilliant. Brilliance is neither a requirement not necessarily a guarantee of success in the work world. I did go to an ivy and am not high up on the food chain but very happy with my work life balance.

OP here. I guess I should have been more clear. I was using the term DC average from another post which referred to middle to upper middle class in MD, DC, VA who aren't brilliant, gifted advanced etc - just regular average reasonably bright kids.

embarrassing

DC has a 57% graduation rate for high school. And that 57% covers those just scraping by. Embarassing for the capital of the first world .

Jail

Considering that the majority of DCPS kids cannot read at grade level - the avg DC kid will never go to college or make anywhere near 100K.

I'm going on a number of recent threads and can't help wondering how kids deemed DC average end up. I think getting into an IVY or making a big salary is a very narrow definition of success, but it seems to be what passes for it around here. One thread I read said 'its the difference between making 100K and paying 100K in taxes". Do 'DC average kids' ever become successful in DC terms?