Schools have long had the cart well out in front of the horse.
So-called Advanced Placement and Honors programs are, in reality, those classes beyond Algebra I that used to be part of the core curriculum. They provide a convenient bragging point for teachers, schools and students so nobody is willing to upset the apple cart. They also provide cover for grade inflation. Now students get meaningless GPAs of 4.51798 to go with their meaningless diplomas - how fitting.
Don’t get me started on all the ‘Gifted’ programs popping up like mushrooms. Er, no. Mozart was gifted. Newton was gifted. Little Timmy is not gifted because he lucked into getting 20 vocabulary words correct.
My 7th grade Chino, California mentally gifted minors program required an actual IQ test, just like MENSA. Of course, that was in 1972, not now.