One of the major themes in Lives on the Boundary is the distinction between a person’s capability and the metrics society uses to measure aptitude and success. Rose argues that qualification and standardized testing are poor ways to place students in the educational system, and that they do more harm than good. He carries this theme throughout his book by sharing his own story and the stories of his students, and he leverages these narratives to show how testing furthers both educational and socioeconomic inequality.

Rose begins this discussion with his own bungled test results. As a rising high school student, Rose’s placement test scores are accidentally swapped with those of Tommy Rose, a very low performing student. Unfortunately, the error goes undetected for two years. The error is only caught when Rose’s biology teacher, mystified by his strong performance in class, digs into Rose’s personal records. The school moves Rose back into regular classes immediately, but Rose knows this correction hinges on dumb luck. He tells readers that “the telling thing” about his situation “is how chancy both my placement into and exit from Voc. Ed. was; neither I nor my parents had anything to do with it” (30).