Merit & Excellence

Sacramento is moving to gut Prop 209's K-12 protections through ACA-7, which would open gifted programs and school admissions to race-based preferences after California voters rejected racial preference schemes twice. Meanwhile, a Hartford student who graduated with honors can't read a sentence, illustrating what happens when systems prioritize credentials over actual learning. From Chomsky's Epstein ties to Princeton professors whitewashing Khomeini, the posts here also track a broader pattern Thomas Sowell identified: elite institutions never hold their own accountable for being catastrophically wrong.

Merit & Excellence State Politicians

California Democrats Are Coming for Your Kids' Schools. Again.

March 03, 2026 · 4 min read

ACA-7 would gut Prop 209's K-12 protections, letting race determine who gets into gifted programs. Voters said no twice. Sacramento doesn't care.

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Merit & Excellence

She Graduated With Honors But She Can't Read

February 18, 2026 · 4 min read

She's suing the district that failed to teach her. Virtue signal destroyed teaching. How do we restore real education in schools?

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Merit & Excellence State Politicians

How One Professor Helped Kill a Bad Bill

February 17, 2026 · 3 min read

Jelani Nelson drove to Sacramento for months, recruited allies, and won: Academic standards at UCs matter

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Merit & Excellence State Capacity

MacKenzie Scott's $26 Billion Sugar Pile

February 16, 2026 · 5 min read

Forbes celebrates her as history's greatest giver. But without stewardship, the outcomes are spotty at best.

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Merit & Excellence New York City

The $75,000 Escape Hatch Rich Parents Will Use

February 10, 2026 · 4 min read

Mamdani's plan to kill gifted programs will crush working-class kids while wealthy families shrug and write tuition checks.

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Merit & Excellence San Francisco

SFUSD's "Equity" Lottery Backfired Spectacularly

February 04, 2026 · 4 min read

A policy failure wrapped in virtue signaling: more segregation, 4,000 students gone, a bankrupt district—and it all started with anti-Chinese racism.

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