This paper compares the educational outcomes and student aspirations of graduates from three typical upper middle class high schools and an atypical lower middle class high school that used Mastery Learning to guide the delivery of instruction. The Johnson City School District (JCSD) in New York has used this form of instruction through the first 12 years of school. The graduates of Johnson City High School have been taught over the course of their schooling that mastery was a function of time and effort, not normally distributed aptitude, and that whatever opportunities there are in the school and afterwards are open to as many students as possible. There will be variability in achievement, but it cannot be easily explained on the basis of race or social class. A comparison of data describing the graduates of the four school districts showed that JCSD's high school does not graduate cohorts of students that mirror the graduating classes of the three more affluent districts, but there are definite and encouraging trends which indicate that JCSD graduates have higher achievement and aspirations. (JD)