Anyone else go to public schools where classes within a grade were labeled A, B, C, D, E (etc) and sorted according to "academic achievement," which basically translated to smarts? Ostensibly, a hard-working student could move "up," but I only recall one girl who did. She was smart as a whip, but there had been Trouble At Home (so I heard) and she had only recently started paying attention in class.
We were all Caucasians, but segregated. Unless they were neighbors, or in some outside activity together, "A" class students rarely mingled with "B" or below. "E" class was what you'd call "special ed" today. Shades of Huxley's "Brave New World," without the genetic engineering.
One year, there was an outcry from some parents over a perceived stigma attached to being in certain letters. The school reacted by reversing the letter order. My cohort were now "E" instead of "A."