[bonoboTP]

Well I don't know how it is in the US but in Hungary, secondary schools (some of which start at age 10, some at 12, some at 14 - before that is primary school) use centralized admission exam scores and compete for smart kids or artsy ones, some are geared for trades or tourism and gastronomy etc.

You only have to endure 4, 6 or 8 years among the general population of your neighborhood, but at least that exposes people to some socialization with the different "classes". I'm doing a PhD now, but made good friends with people who now do blue collar jobs which makes the working class less of an "other" in my eye, compared if I had been to elite high brow schools the whole time.