The system of elite schools is designed to perpetuate itself -- just like any beauracracy. The elite schools do this fairly well, imho. Note that grading hard

The system of elite schools is designed to perpetuate itself -- just like any beauracracy. The elite schools do this fairly well, imho. Note that grading hard is basically friction in the system that is fairly efficient to avoid. The elite schools have plenty of smart and hard-working students who don't need hard grading as a motivator to do great work. Those students are the backbone of your school.