And led to a huge retardation (in the literal sense) of learning. Which is fine (from the point of view of the people who run these schools). Because the mode

And led to a huge retardation (in the literal sense) of learning. Which is fine (from the point of view of the people who run these schools). Because the modern HS process is designed around passing tests, and generating positive signals for admissions to elite schools. Which sometimes overlap with the goal of learning -- but in general are orthogonal to it. By and large, "learning" as such has come to have at best anciliary value in the modern HS experience.