That and the meme that “every kid deserves a college education”.
The world needs ditch diggers and tradesmen more than it needs Liberal Arts or some Afro-centric studies majors.
After the 8th grade, if a student has shown a tendency to be a problem in school or have difficult with academics, send them off to a trade school and teach them something useful.
Not every kid is pre-destined to be the next Einstein.
Use the grade 9-12 classroom resources for the kids who can and want to learn in order to get into good colleges.
I’m really starting to think that the European system is “fairer”, where if you have the test scores, you get a scholarship to college. If not, you can go to a trade school. You can’t “buy” your way into a school. I work with “furriners” who think that our system is insane. Most of them went to college for free, on merit.