When my school was hit by a natural disaster, I had the opportunity to switch from a premier Catholic school to a premier public school for two semesters.
...let me tell you, the biggest disservice that you received was a systematic lowering of academic standards. The difference was night and day. There is no way that that curriculum was preparing students for college.
Since there is a limited window in which brain plasticity is at its peak, catching up at university isn't an option. Public school students are at a permanent disadvantage; it's an equal opportunity problem.