Should Kids Be Able to Graduate After 10th Grade? New Hampshire’s starting to think so:
High school sophomores should be ready for college by age 16. That’s the message from New Hampshire education officials, who announced plans Oct. 30 for a new rigorous state board of exams to be given to 10th graders. Students who pass will be prepared to move on to the state’s community or technical colleges, skipping the last two years of high school.
If all the 16- and 17-year-olds are going to be driving anyway, why not send them to community colleges when they’re ready?
Naturally, some people object — for the usual reasons:
Critics of cutting high school short, however, worry that proposals such as New Hampshire’s could exacerbate existing socioeconomic gaps.
Yes, asking students to pass an actual achievement test and letting those who pass it move on to higher education would “exacerbate existing socioeconomic gaps” — if you’re the kind of person to describe not holding back good students as exacerbating existing socioeconomic gaps.