You're first sentence is 100% spot on with my experience and I completely agree. Average kids could indirectly pay their way to "success", but still couldn't really hold a candle to the talented kids. So if that's how their parents wanted to spend their money, that's their prerogative. It's my opinion though that they didn't really get that much out of it because they didn't have the academic talent to keep themselves head above water. So yes they were still in the class, but they were a dunce and everyone knew it. And the smart kids were happy.

Some magnet schools are very shitty though. Also agree with that sentiment. The term doesn't always mean good school, just that you're not stuck in your home district if you have the means of attending a more enriching program.

And back to my first comment, "American education is only going to shit for some". There's still good schools in the American educational system, both private and public. They're just hard to get into. Complicated issue, but you seem to understand that.