[lliiffee]

I think, maybe it was this article, unfortunately now behind a paywall.

http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=E1_TTGNNP...

I think your experience is unusual in that you would have chosen easier classes left to your own devices. Usually, the debates about "tracking" center on the weaker students getting pushed out of the harder classes. What I remember seeing is that the countries with strongest schools (Finland and I think Singapore) just set a given pace for each class, and let students and parents decide what is best for them.