If everyone is forced to pay into the public school system, then every child is entitled to be there.
With that said, the government (federal, state, or local) should not be in the education business. Government has monopolized education. Parents now expect the government to raise and educate their children.
Public schools should provide nothing more than a basic education, and spending should be cut to a bare minimum. Then, more parents would consider private schools, and private schools could flourish, providing families with more options.
You wrote: "When it comes to college bound students, I believe that an IQ above 110 should be required... SAT and ACT exams are a proxy for IQ tests"
I knew students with low SAT scores who did very well in college and are successful in their careers. I knew people with high IQs who never finished college. I knew a Mensa member whose life was a complete mess. I knew a top student with (supposedly) a 100 IQ who became wealthy and successful.
IQ tests are overrated here. A student with common sense and good study habits will succeed in college and life.
But, I do believe a high SAT or ACT score should continue to be a qualifier for merit scholarships.
Bull crap. They are not capable of learning. Schools are places where teachers teach and children learn. No one has found any method to teach anyone with IQ’s that low. The U.S. military will not even allow people with IQ’s that low to enlist. Remove the cognitive disability from the problem and replace it with a violent child that repeatedly beats other children and disturbs class. His parents may pay taxes but he has no business being in school either. Completely remove the school from the scenario. We all pay taxes for things that we receive no benefit. In fact, the vast majority of government spending most people receive no benefit.
As for spending money on education in general, the federal government has no constitutional power to do anything with education. It squarely falls under the 10th Amendment. There are states that have constitutions and laws that inject government into education. Personally, I do not want any level of government involved in education. I chose to homeschool my children to avoid government. Not only did I pay property taxes for other’s education, I paid to homeschool. It’s not words to me. It was action.
As for college, IQ’s and SATs, these are are only tools to roughly determine academic success. High school GPA’s and subject exams are better indicators of academic success. Many factors should be considered. I am an advocate of very high standards, but that doesn’t mean that there cannot be colleges with low standards. But, that comes with consequences.
If a new college graduate applied for a job at my company (retired now) with a degree from Cheney, Lincoln, Del State or any other non competitive college in the area, they would be immediately turned down for an interview. That’s simply based on making a decision to go to a non competitive college when there are comparably priced educations of much better quality. It’s not worth the time and money to interview someone with low standards. It wasn’t a fit for my business.
Credentialism is a major problem in America. Education institutions at nearly all levels graduate incompetents and have grade inflation. There is also a major push for every child to go to college. That neglects other very needed avenues to prepare people for careers that do not require an academic education. Additionally, colleges have invented junk studies majors to accommodate idiots. That doesn’t prepare those people graduating with a studies degree and it increases the tuition costs for students in majors that actually lead to being a productive citizen.