It’s not the schools that are so great—it’s their students who are great. “Schools can look like they have a large effect on student outcomes,” observed researchers who studied Chicago’s selective schools, “while these apparent successes should actually be attributed to the students themselves.” That’s not to say schools never matter. But students who are already high academic achievers tend to remain that way no matter where they are educated.

What they need to do is put these great students in an environment where they fear for their safety and see how they perform.

Adverse diversity should make them even greater!