This paper argues that the fundamental problem of individual inequalities in school success should be solved. Individual inequalities exist because present forms of schooling serve only a fraction of the different individuals in the population and because of the absurdity that precociousness in young children sets the standard for school success. Inequalities persist because of neglect--the failure to appreciate the developmental strength and the idiosyncracies of children. Far too large a proportion of the population fail in schools: well over two-thirds are white students from middle class homes. Age and idiosyncracy, two obvious sources of variation in academic performance, should be exploited, not neglected. If the concern should be with competence at the end of schooling, the importance of demanding that elementary school children excel at traditional scholastic performances can be doubted. That serious consideration be given to the fact that: (a) all of the formal learning now required (even though more than a third of the students never complete it) during elementary school can be accomplished in much shorter order during the intermediate years; and (b) that many students, given this delay, will eventually attain a higher level of accomplishment than they do now, is held to be supported by informed opinion and evidence. (Author/JM)