[grobdriver]

And so her child is in private school.

Trust me, lady - you don't want your kids at UT.

Send 'em to A&M.

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

Good article. I was talking to a Chinese gentlemen whose children are in San Marino school system here in California(one of the best). His children are having difficulty keeping in the top 10% (70% of the kids are Asian) of the class which qualifies them for the UC system. He was bemoaning the fact he could have bought a nice house and alot cheaper one in a bad school system area and his children could have easily qualified for the UC system.

[Physicist]

"Frankly, I don't think she can compete with the Asians," she said.

Self-fulfilling prophecy.

I'd like to ask this woman whether she wants her kid to get into college, or to become well-educated?

Wording it differently, does she want her kid to get good grades, or to learn?

[jimt]

I guess my ex and I are idiots. Our daughter just started at HSPVA, where she spends half her day on art, and the other half in tougher pre-AP classes. HSPVA gave us everything we asked for, which was to take all the toughest classes.

It's a great school. Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that at a recent open house, there were more parents present in each class than there were students enrolled.

She could have gone to a private high school (she was already enrolled), but chose this on purpose. If she doesn't make the top 10%, no big deal. She'll have done what she wanted to, and taken the more difficult road.

[Redbob]

"One, she said, was turned down by UT-Austin but received a scholarship to Boston University."

Dare I suggest this could have been racial quotas in action?

Yup, I dare.

[Eternal_Bear]

don't u just love "social engineering"? Where did government get such powers anyway?

[Melas]

This story goes wide of mark and only tells half the tale. I remember well when the 10% rule was debated, and finally enacted here in Texas.

While there was certainly a racial element in the wake of a dismantled AA system in Texas, that's not what closed the deal. The 10% rule enjoyed widespread support in the state because with it's rural population in excess of 20%, Texas isn't as urban as many states.

One of the downsides to rural living is the school systems are often by necessity more limited than their larger urban counterparts. I was living in a small Texas town of 882 when this was debated, as was oft pointed out, our high school was too small to offer AP courses, only offered a foriegn language when a teacher was available, didn't offer calculus etc, but our kids were competing against urban kids who did have access to these things.

So for good or for bad, rural Texan's saw this as a chance for their kids to have a shot at good schooling, and THAT closed the deal. The author, a Houstonite, obviously didn't get it.