The worst idea in the history of education, other than making "Health" a requirement:

New Hampshire announces plans for a set of state board exams for 10th graders-- think the French Bacc-- which would allow those who want to to graduate high school two years early and go on to technical, community or regular college. 

Those who want to may still follow a traditional 12th grade curriculum, and then go onto college.

Right now, Tucker argues, most American teenagers slide through high school, viewing it as a mandatory pit stop to hang out and socialize. Of those who do go to college, half attend community college. So Tucker's thinking is why not let them get started earlier?

1. New Hampshire is too far for me to go and start punching people.

2. Let me understand: high school is mostly pointless, so the solution you've come up with is not to improve it, but to graduate them faster. 

If you think there's an education gap between rich and poor kids now, wait until this passes.  You think rich kids will-- will be allowed to-- do this?  This is for poor kids, bored, disinterested and looking to get out, and it legitimizes it, depriving them of two years of high school.  

3.  This is Bizarro Robin Hood, this is a massive transfer of wealth from individuals to the state.  Think about the type of kid who would leave high school after 10th grade and aactually go on to college.  Is he going to Harvard?  No, he's going to a state school.  Do you think an at-best average student, with two years less high school, is going to finish college in four?  So here we have a system where a kid is going to leave a free school to go to a college he has to pay for, for longer.  The state saves two years on high school-- $60 billion, nationally-- and gets an extra year out of the college tuition.

I don't need to point out that tuition is going up, faster than the inflation rate?  Especially at state schools?

These people don't care about students, they care about themselves.  That's why they want to remove teacher accountability.  Why, in bold red 20pt font in the sidebar of the report is the description of how, with all the money they'll save, they can pay teachers up to $110k a year.

4.  Don't tell me it will reduce dropout rates-- that's a scam, too.  They've simply been graduated.

5.  Reducing the number of years in school is actually a great idea, but you're reducing the wrong years.  If they really wanted to help "Improve The Skills Of The American Workforce"-- see?  that's what they think of you, what they think high school education is for-- then they should try to find a way to make high school so good that you need less college.  But where's the money in that?

A real solution would be to cut college down to 2 years.  Or even zero: straight to professional school or work.  College is reducing our country's productivity and infantilizing young adults.  Hi.  Is this thing on?

----


The Graying of Kindergarten series
The Dumbest Generation Is Only The Second Dumbest Generation