I find it interesting that a lot of people here are referencing how they wish they could have been separated very early on. That the "smart" children were nicer

I find it interesting that a lot of people here are referencing how they wish they could have been separated very early on. That the "smart" children were nicer and the rest were just bullies. I'll hedge that some of that is true. Sure - at my schools - some of the worst performers and bullies were in lower tracks. The worst moved or never went to the normal high school though. They ended up failing so hard and/or getting too many out of school suspensions. However - gotta say - plenty of assholes at the top marks. I can't remember any high(er) performers being very nice. Most were jerks outright. Bullying then was usually more psychological than physical but it wasn't foregone to see physical issues. I was quickly shot in and out midyear due to my rather unpredictable performance (go figure - regular bullying, alcoholic parents, harsh punitive measures, and high neglect never fared me well). I never noticed the bullying change beyond the superficial. (Physical vs psychological - but, even then, that wasn't off limits really much either) If the goal is to increase test scores - maybe fix the core issues that get in the way of students learning the material. But - I get it, that's basically impossible. Shit parents are ubiquitous. They seem almost universal.