I would be in favor of allowing smart teens who plan to go to college to transfer to Community College in their junior or senior year. (The public school unions will kill that idea real quick).
High school students here can start community college part time at 16 (tuition-free). If they want to attend full time, they can either take the GED, or have their families register as homeschools and declare them graduates. My oldest daughter started c.c. full time this fall, instead of doing a senior year of high school. High-school graduates have to pay tuition, unlike “dual-enrollment” students, but it’s not expensive.
I spent my last two years of high school at the community college (our program allows Jr’s and Sr’s to go full-time). Best thing I ever did in my entire education. I picked up my high school diploma and my AAS (with honors) the same week. I will encourage my children to do the same.
“Our local community college offers a program for HS seniors, where they can spend their senior year full-time at the college taking college courses which are transferable to most 4 year colleges. Juniors can also participate, but part time. My daughter took advantage of the program and entered her 4 year college as a sophomore.”
That is so common now that secondary school should now probably end after the 10th grade. Underperforming kids don’t appear to show measurable improvement in the last two years of HS according to some research so why waste the money (with so many kids taking college classes anyway?
Depends on your state. In Virginia, high school seniors can and do spend part or a huge portion of their day at community college on a dual enrollment type of set up. My kids didn’t do it, one wasnt driving at the time and the other focused her time on AP credits. She transferred enough credits that she entered college a 2nd semester sophomore. Pretty sweet - she can finish in 3 years