Comment by programjames

It's generally safe to assume your child will be above the bottom quintile for anything they care about. I went to a decent public school, and gifted programs, AP courses and extracurricular activities are lacking. Most students do not care about learning. I've talked to some people from Lexington High School (often considered the best public school in the US), and they had the same sentiment.

"I thought you guys usually have a bunch of olympiad medalists though; don't students care about academics at your school?"

"No, there's only really 10–15 of us who try, and hold up the rest of the school's reputation."