[lighthawk]

Yes, I'm suggesting put the burden on the school to meet the requirements of the university. If the school cannot meet the requirements, the student should know that he/she should not go to that school if they want to get into their university of choice. It's more transparent that way and would help states and counties identify schools that needed assistance.

[aroch]

How would this help students from low income areas or students from all but the most well funded public and private high schools? IMO, it would make things drastically worse. Students really don't get to pick their high school if they're attending public schools, that is based entirely on where you live. Low income families by virtue of being low income cannot afford to live in wealthier areas with better public schools. By the same token, they cannot afford to send their kids to expensive private schools

[lighthawk]

Right now there are prep schools that send more than the top 5% of their students to Ivy League schools.

I'm suggesting that you have to be within the top 5% class GPA to get in. So, some students may actually have a lower GPA, but still have a chance to get in, because they were in the top 5% of their class.

I'm also saying that students don't have to have the resources to take SAT prep courses, because they would only have to do well at their own schools.

If the public or private school was not accredited for possible acceptance into an Ivy League school, parents should know that and be able to do something about it, and so should the state or county.

[basseq]

I'd argue that a vast majority of students—particularly on the lower end of the income scale—don't have a choice in the school they attend.

[lighthawk]

In the county I live in, if another school provides resources you cannot get at your assigned school, you may be able to get into that other school. So there are options for some, depending on where you live.

But more importantly, poorly performing schools need to be identified and fixed. If they can't be, then it needs to be obvious that they are not able to prepare students for elite education.

It is not right for only those from wealthy families to be the only ones that can be adequately prepared, because they can go to prep schools and train for and retake standardized tests.

[basseq]

There are structural barriers (e.g., the ability to request a different school) and institutional barriers (e.g., the willingness or resources needed to overcome structural barriers).

I think most districts in the U.S. have similar processes to attend an alternate school, but barriers remain high in low-income areas, ranging from stigma to logistics (e.g., transportation to a more distant school). Even when structures are in place, the ability to attend a different school is a stretch for some.