*This is an ideal nonpartisan solution for our times. It will cost virtually nothing to enact the legislation and have little or no net effect on district finances. The bill itself likely would be a page or less and could pass with bipartisan support.*
A page or less would keep it simple. District finances-cut them when the students disappear.
Schools are trying to optimize the number of students in class because they get paid based on in-class participation.
Three of my five children decided to do GED. They then went into college classes they wanted for the careers they were aiming at. Two wanted the whole cap and gown thing so we all obliged.
Freedom really is the best way to decide these issues, not a government cookie cutter plan.
I agree with this and did exactly as proposed as soon as I heard about the proficiency exam.
I favor vouchers, let the vouchers cover whatever educational status the student gains until they are 18 years old. If that’s 4 or 5 years of college then so be it. If it’s barely enough to get a football player across the line reading at 3rd grade level then so be it. I see no reason to hold back smart kids just so the dumb kids can feel better about themselves.
from my home page
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Here’s my modest proposal for education reform.
We have been discussing ways to fast track kids through high school to avoid the liberal agenda and other idiocies:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1315730/posts?page=84#84
Proposal for the Free Republic High School Diploma.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1316882/posts
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Our son was home schooled.
Passed the GED after the 8th grade.
Took it as an entrance exam for a college prep school.
Way back when a 13 y.o. couldn’t easily get into any college except community colleges.
Instead, he got his Eagle Scout and competed in church bible competition called Teen Bible Quiz.
He’s done quite well and is still self motivated to be the best.
One nephew started college at 14, had his two year classes done by 16, then he could take the GED at 16, turn it in to the college to “validate” his two years.
The pushback will be TEACHERS UNIONS. Keep them in high school longer means more teachers/more dues/more power. I know one girl who dropped out of high school because she had one English credit left and her school demanded she fill up the rest of the day with electives. Why? She dropped out and took the GED. The problem is the “stigma” of the GED... there is one. That will have to change and be looked upon as an “educational choice”. IMHO
If testing can be made cheat proof, then anyone passing the GED should get their diploma no matter what their educational background. This works for ANY level of education even for Masters and PhD degrees. There needs to be some objectivity in the higher degrees. As it is now, a Masters or PhD candidate jumps to the tune of their faculty advisor and the degree system becomes just another ideological filtering apparatus.
High School Equivalency Exam
World Wide Web Links | 1/6/05 | Kevin O’Malley
Posted on 1/6/2005, 7:58:45 PM by Kevin OMalley
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1315730/posts
I am for the complete removal of government from education. Why are there hideous rules based on chronology to take an exam? When I homeschooled my children advanced lesson by lesson based on mastery, not based on age. It was easy, because what they were learning wasn't rocket science, but it prepared them to learn anything when they were young adults and for the rest of their lives - including rocket science (engineering). Both of my daughters had to take the GED. It was a joke; talk about setting standards low.
Why does anyone put any credence in the GED or state graduation exams? Look at the source. They are all part of the failed government education establishment. They are a check box that has no meaning other than to arbitrarily advance in their failed education system. Government makes kids and their parents jump through hoops only to be indoctrinated and poorly educated. People independent of that system (homeschoolers) don't want to play by their failed rules. That is why they homeschool. They do a hell of a lot better than any low-IQ government teacher and they know better than EVERY school administrator. Everyone employed in state and federal government department of educations are useless wastes of tax dollars and are part of the failed education establishment. Their driving motivators are to retire and collect their pensions while maintaining the status quo so they retain their employment. Their greatest fear is independent thinkers that actually have meaningful standards. That's the truth about these tax dollar sucking scum that want to keep your kids and America in a quagmire of mediocrity.
An average American can do all their jobs ten times better at fraction of the cost, all without their bogus Ed degrees and leftist indoctrination.
Burn it all down. Let people keep their tax dollars and drive these leftists to the unemployment line. Put education solely in the private sector and in the hands of parents.
I started college at 14. I was more than ready and have had nothing but solid 4.0 grades through all the colleges I have attended.
High school was a joke and nearly a complete waste of time, and I went to one of the worst black high schools in the country and two of the best and affluent high schools. There were major differences between the schools but college is what provided my education, not the high schools.
I am also all for the Early College programs, like the Colorado Early Colleges, that send kids to college instead of High School. They earn a 4 year degree and their high school diploma together. They are part of the public school charter programs and are free to the students.
Why stop at 16. Make it 12 years old.
My 16yo son will be taking the last section of the GED next week (Idaho). He could easily have passed straight out of 8th grade. Language Arts section scored him as “college ready” and he hasn’t had to re-take any of it. Students and parents need the freedom to make the right choice for them.
Since when do we change policies to benefit high achievers. This is unacceptable!
I was 16 on graduation day from high school. I immediately started college classes in June. I had applied late to UCSD, so my start date would be January 1974. I turned 17 in August 1973. My Fall semester at Southwestern college overlapped my first two weeks at UCSD.
I took 18 to 22 quarter units every quarter and graduated in June 1976 at age 19. It was a hard slog, but a worthwhile investment of effort.
There shouldn't be a minimum age to take the GED. If you're ready and able, take it. Move on with life. It's certainly easier than having to petition the local school board and having an impact only as broad as the high school district.
I took the California High School Equivalency at 16 and went to college.
You don’t need the GED.
A GED doesn’t begin to show students are ready for college.
But public education at this point is rotten to the core.