That is why I wrote “who are capable of doing well in the courses” previously. There is a difference between putting an entry barrier based on likelihood of doing well in the course versus one set much higher for some other gatekeeping reason. Do we want to force middle schoolers into the hypercompetitive mindset commonly associated with pre-meds and other college students who must compete for the few spaces into medical school or their intended majors (due to capacity limitations), even though a larger number of them would be capable of successfully doing the work?
Also, when the middle and high schools only have downward mobility between the tracks with no upward mobility, that may encourage the hypercompetitive mindset further.