Parents need to stay involved in their kids education. Many are forced away due to circumstances they can't control, but too many are willing to abdicate and let things run on autopilot. They they are surprised when their Tesla runs into a firetruck.
The thing is, the vast majority of parents do not have the kind of experience with the school system that our parents do. It's unreasonable to expect it.
The system should work well even for those who don't have knowledgeable parents advocating for them, because most do not, and it's a horrible waste of talent for an entire country to throw away most of their potential geniuses through lack of good education that works for everyone. I was in magnet programs my entire public school life from fourth grade, but most of my peers were similarly privileged students, because the average students' parents didn't even know about the admission exams to get into these programs, let alone how to properly study for them. I got a huge leg up on all of it.
Of my oldest three daughters, two are in the "advanced" track. I personally think it stifles them. They are kept with the same small group of kids through elementary school and afew more are added in middle school (from neighboring elementaries), but all the kids have fairly interested parents and kids who can't keep up get shunted out. They struggle and feel stressed.
My oldest is not in the advanced track, but she's still able to take AP courses and keep a high GPA. She stresses less about socializing since she's been exposed to a wider variety of kids.
I'm don't think you have to know the ins and outs of school bureaucracy to help your student succeed. I do think you need to talk to them, keep informed of their progress, and make an effort to communicate with teachers.
