We have seen this in our district - with a twist. As part of one of the largest school districts in the US, our high schools have a huge disparity of both dropout rates and students continuing on to college. For example, our high school has a graduation rate of around 97% and over 80% continuing on for higher education. 25% of last year's senior class graduated with over a 4.0. In contrast, another high school in the district battles dropout rates approaching 70% with paltry number of graduating seniors continuing on for higher education.
In an attempt to equal the playing field, the superintendent proposed that our mid and high school not be allowed to offer advanced academic courses that were not also available to students at other high schools in the district. After a vociferous outcry, the proposal was tabled - but not dropped.
While steps need to be taken to address the socioeconomic and social challenges that are affecting a disparity in education options for students, dumbing down all students is not the answer, either.
Wow. You have to wonder what problem they thought they were going to solve there, because the proposed solution seems to indicate that the problem is that your school is doing too well, and it needs to be dragged down to the level of the others.
