Is "Best" Worth It?

This item from The Atlantic makes the case that attending the "best" high school is statistically less relevant than parents often believe. While providing empirical support for the notion that such factors as selectivity, perceived rigor, reputation, etc., are not the lead-pipe-cinch determinants some would suggest, the data do reveal an effect, just one that is very, very small. The author of the article concludes that the parent agita about getting their children into the "best" school is "for naught."But that is not exactly correct. Stated more accurately, what the cited research calls into question is whether the small effect is worth all the expense and stress. And that's the proverbial fly in the ointment. Many parents, perceiving the world to be a highly competitive, winner-take-all kind of place, are so desperate for any sort of edge for their children that even a tiny effect seems like a difference maker. When I suggested last week that a parent read the article, he emailed back, "if school were an Olympic swim competition, I would do anything to give my kid a .0001 second edge, especially against Michael Phelps."Perceived through that mindset, any effect size is worth the expense and stress. Hard to argue with the logic. Maybe what we should be attacking is the notion that life must be such a bitter competition. That scarcity-based viewpoint underlies all the agita.