No — you should fact check that.

Middle and high schools start auditioning and training students into “advanced” art, preparing them to go onto competitions and onto serious careers in programs differentiated from the casual art classes.

Learning calculus won’t be enough as a professional in STEM either — but AP Calculus is the equivalent of audition-only advanced art classes. (Which exist all over.)

Do most public schools really have the capacity to train students for serious art careers? At least in dance and music, at the highest levels everything is purely student driven (school dance and music is typically not super competitive for the serious artist) and presumably visual art is as well. Unless you go to an arts high school, but there aren't that many of those

I went to two high schools, one very poor and one moderately wealthy.

Both had audition programs in art for “advanced” classes (both music and drawing), where students were matched with more serious training and where their bands went to competitions and drawings were entered in regional shows.

I think you’re confusing “good, on track for professional” with “absolute top tier” — many students from regular schools go on to, eg, be animators at a studio or choir directors.

The same split exists in math:

- advanced classes you have to place into exist at most schools, eg AP calculus

- but to be the “absolute top tier”, you’re talking about STEM schools and private mentoring programs

You need the first for engineers, scientists, etc — even if they’re not going to be Terry Tao.