Posted on 12/04/2016 7:36:12 AM PST by wintertime
Proposal:
Award any child ( regardless of age) an official high school diploma from his local high school if they score above a certain level on the SAT, ACT, or GED exams.
Why?
1) If the purpose of compulsory education laws is to produce literate and numerate citizens then scoring above a certain level on the SAT, ACT, or GED is proof of that.
2) Fewer students in school will reduce the number of teachers needed. This means fewer salaries, pensions, and benefits that must be paid by the taxpayers. It may even mean closing down and selling some schools and property.
3) It reduces the amount of time the student spends being influenced and indoctrinated by Marxist trained teachers.
4) The young person can start post-high school training and/or college and begin his career years sooner. Increasing the years working can literally mean hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars more earned over a lifetime. The state certainly will benefit from the tax dollars collected and the young person can benefit from a better standard of living and a more secure retirement.
4)) There are advantages to having an official high school diploma when applying for college loans and scholarships, or when applying to enlist in the military.
5) The more time a person spends working in the real world of a free economy the more likely his is to understand and appreciate conservative principles.
I think the much better idea is to get rid of the Indoctrinators
Problem solved
I think that is a good, single-point proposal which would never be accepted by any district.
I graduate my students when they can pass the placement test for (non-remedial) admission to our community college.
Nearly every teacher in this nation, in both private and government schools, was trained by godless Marxists in Marxist run colleges and universities. Even if the teacher is “conservative” their training will leak through into the classroom.
I am absolutely in favor of closing down the government K-12 indoctrination camps. I am proposing an immediate and simple no cost step that will not cost the taxpayers a dime.
If conservatives can't get everything they want immediately let's at least nibble at the edges.
That’s a problem, School get funding based on how many student signed up into the district. Body count is more important than teaching.
My kids started college at the ages of 13, 12, and 13 and this was in the mid to late 1990s.
I took the CA proficiency test to graduate at 16 and went to college. It was the equiv of a HS diploma and after 1 semester at college I never needed to show/prove I had a diploma other than to get into my transfer school. After that, the fact I had a college degree trumped the need to prove I had a HS diploma or equiv.
With a plan like this I could have been in college at 12.
Yeah....a plan with merit: early graduation for meeting standards...
and already an option. Don’t think there’s any opposition: parental control.
Many kids begin college in their teens. If the college wants the student:
the schools are thrilled to claim the kid’s success.
But allowing a student to graduate to go to work (?):
they will likely withhold a diploma. Too much risk involved for the kid; bad
rep for the school. Kid would have to quit...and get a GED.
So it is already available. And homeschooling is always an option.
So you essentially want a kid to be able to “test out” of High School? As long as the criteria (tests, scores, etc) are properly chosen I have no problem with that.
In fact I think a person should be able to test out of college, anything. I once wanted to promote a technician to the engineering grade level but HR wouldn’t let me because he didn’t have the degree. I claimed he could do the work and should be promoted. They finally agreed that if he could pass two professional certifications that were designed for engineers, I could promote him. He did and I did.
If you can do the work as determined by objective professional standards, you ought to get the degree, job, whatever.
YES!
I’ve been proposing this for years.
End compulsory school attendance at age 12 if the student can pass basic literacy, math, history and science tests. End it at age 16 regardless.
AFTER PASSING THE BASIC TEST, if the student wants to continue with his/her education, taxpayers will pay for up to 4 more years of advanced education (above the basics) or for vocational education.
It’s true that a student 16 or over can take the GED and leave school. However, younger students cannot. Also, a GED is considered evidence of less education than a high school diploma. A certain level of SAT or ACT score - one that would admit the student, other things being equal, to a mid-level state university, perhaps - would be more “diagnostic” of preparedness for college or work.
One of the problems with not having a high school diploma was they were not allowed to apply for scholarships. We did not need loans but without a high school diploma that was not permitted, either.
Also..some homeschoolers have told me that the military have high school diploma requirements as well.
They do. Under current Federal law, the military must accept a homeschool diploma from a school compliant with the law in the relevant state.
I think the issue the OP is trying to address is that in many or most areas, the school board will not issue a diploma without the child having attended a certain number of hours or credits or whatever *in* their classrooms. At least this is what homeschoolers have said, and thus if their kids don’t attend public schools at all the only option is a GED.
The excuse used is that kids need to attend their classrooms to get socialized or something. I suspect it has more to do with headcount that justifies federal aid dollars.
I think that is overly simplistic. My son took the ACT last year in 7th grade as part of Duke TIPS and scored higher than seniors I coach who are going to Georgia Tech.
That suggests he could graduate based on your criteria.
But what this skips is general knowledge that I don’t think is tested as part of the ACTs like history, biology, chemistry, higher math (pre calf and calc), etc.
Maybe kids could be eligible for taking the GED tests (is that a thing?) if they score over a certain level.
Actual classes at a University? Or college classes via distance learning? Because CA did not allow me to take the test before 16 and the colleges would not take me. This was in 88. 16 was the soonest (we tried before) I could start at a college in CA.
I’ll bet the outcome would be viewed as racist.
If the child can prove they are literate and numerate with one of these exams then give the child an **official** high school diploma from their local high school. ....Regardless of the child's age!
The system is already in place and ready to go. All it needs is state legislature approval. The next time the legislators cry for more money this is one area they could save lots of tax dollars.
Administering and scoring the tests will also be expensive, especially if you include a writing sample (which you should). You’d also have to conduct it under very strict guidelines to avoid cheating, and change it up regularly. Therefore, to keep expenses under control, I’d recommend a minimum age of 15, and a certain GPA from the two years previous. It would ensure that kids don’t just take it over and over until they pass (this would be expensive) and those who really want out will do well in the years leading up to it.
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