I remember being in 6th grade, and I had to take a test for 7th grade honors math. And they're like, "Don't screw this up, because if you don't get into honors math in 7th grade, you won't get in for 8th grade, or 9th grade, or 10th grade... And then you'll just die poor and lonely." They scare you into conforming and doing well in school by saying that if you're a loser now, you'll be a loser forever. Of course it's completely the opposite.
There's actually some truth to that logic though. In Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" he talks about the phenomenon of how the greatest achievers in school, be it in sports or academics often have one thing in common, they started school a year later than their peers. This gave them a natural edge over the competition because they were a year older. Then teachers and coaches naturally spend more time nurturing those children because they are doing better. And like dominos falling, they keep getting the good opportunities again and again, and it translates into a vastly more successful life. All because they started school a little later than other children.