There are always outliers, but I believe that in America today, academic achievement is almost entirely determined by parental involvement (whether it's time or money).

> How do you respond to the criticism that the problems you're describing affect only privileged kids?

I was really disappointed by this question and the answers the authors gave.

Firstly because, this kind of parenting actually does have a large impact on underprivileged kids. It's the reason their failure is virtually guaranteed relative to the privileged kids. The underprivileged kid is one student, competing against the privileged kid, who is essentially a multi-person team of cheaters with a bankroll.

Secondly because, the answers the authors gave to the question pretty clearly demonstrate that they're only thinking of this subject from their perspective. And it sounds like their perspective is that of the parents to the privileged kids.

This could've been an article about parental involvement in academics and the impact it has on fairness and meritocracy and social mobility. Instead it's some rich ladies talking about how their kids would've been even more privileged if they did a little less of their homework for them.