IF I could enforce a new "entry level standard" for RC it would be:
1) Build a 1/2A balsa kit
2) Cover and finish so that it is fuel proof
3) Power it with a Cox .049
4) Install a minimum of 2 channels
5) Complete glide tests (and subsequent repairs)
6) Learn how to make the .049 run through a tank of fuel
7) Learn to fly your aircraft (and how to repair it). Hand launch or ROG are both acceptable.
8) Upon completing one flight through a full tank of fuel with a successful landing, you have graduated to "RC Modeler"
IF this were made the new standard to graduate from HS, it would transform America.