>Struggling kids are made no better, and the exceptional are dragged down.

I disagree

I've been terrible student (think of passing subjects, but pretty close to the "edge") until last two years of HS

where I actually started putting effort into math/english and then I looked at the best students after working with them for a while and I was like "why can't you do better, just like them? are you worse or something?"

that was huge motivation, just awarness that you could do better itself

it works in other things in life too - internet, programming, hackernews.

If I were in a group with people similar to me, then I don't know how it'd end, honestly and it pretty scares me to think where I'd be now in life