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creating a system which is infinitely easier to 'game' than ever before. The temptation to do so if one has the means must just be overwhelming when you consider the stakes/outcomes in play. There really is no end to the kind of rationalizing that parents will do in the service of getting their kids EVERY advantage possible. Consider the steep rise in the number of teenaged kids getting initial 'diagnoses' in the early 2000's when College Board got rid of the asterisk for testing with accommodations. Suddenly some 20% of test takers at wealthy schools "needed" extra time? Really?

I thought of this also. I also thought about the # of kids using ADHD meds as study drugs.

The author of the piece is making a pretty major claim--that pricey extracurriculars, luxe preschool, and tutoring are what is driving the achievement gap. I read a lot of education research and I haven't seen anybody talking about this. That doesn't mean it's completely false--but AFAIK, the more widely held belief is that it isn't so, well, financial, although these parenting practices are often ASSOCIATED with wealth, or more accurately, education and cultural capital. It's more about vocabulary, reading aloud, going to the museum, talking to your child in a "Why do you think so?" way rather than a "Stop! Put that down!" kind of way...These things don't really take money. GOOD preschool--well, okay. Good preschool is very important, but 25k/year preschool? I don't think we have any data showing that we need 25K/year preschool.