What happens when you put all of your eggs in one basket, or two baskets as the case may be in the Charleston County School District? Well, practically no one else has any eggs.
That's pretty much the situation revealed by this year's distribution of National Merit Semifinalists in CCSD: thanks to its magnet programs, only three of the district's 14 high schools have any eggs.
Don't get me wrong. Magnet schools are great for the students who test into them. In an atmosphere of achievement, the most talented students take the most advanced courses and prosper. And giant Wando High School even managed to produce seven without that advantage.
What happens in the other 11 high schools? Suddenly, your best students should be B students, but that doesn't happen. Instead, B work becomes A work, creating a false sense of achievement. High standards become almost impossible to maintain.
Motivation and drive go a long way, but not having a standard to look up to works against those left behind.
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