Scott Hahn has also pointed that out.
As you know, my son was just confirmed at age 14. That's a good age; it makes it kind of like a Catholic bar mitzvah. (In commemoration of the event, we've started letting him lead family prayers on occasion.)
On the downside, they have this dumb idea that the 8th graders have to do "service hours" in order to get confirmed: IOW, they have to do good works to merit the undeserved grace of the sacrament! I don't mind requiring the 8th grade kids to do service hours, but making it prerequisite for the sacrament is ... well, let's just say it would really make St. Paul mad. :-)
I was confirmed at 16, which was too late. The bigger issue, rather than moving the age of confirmation around, is to make religious education substantive, interesting, and useful ... instead of the substance-free pablum that I was fed. My kids are getting better treatment, but it's still not what it could be.
Interesting! I don't know whether our parish requires community service for Confirmation, but I'm pretty sure the one in Oklahoma (Confirmation in the 11th grade!) did.
The Seton School newsletter has mentioned this issue, but they didn't bring up the theological absurdity!
**I also agree with another post which pointed out that the current system in most dioceses deprives teenagers of the sacramental graces of Confirmation at a time in life when they really need it.**
Bump that!