The decision of eight U.S. states to introduce fast-track programs toward graduation in their public high school systems is a welcome change and one that is finally addressing the stalled state of American education.
In 2011, test schools that are part of the pilot program in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont will mandate tests for 10th grade students. Those who pass will have the opportunity either to continue their high school education for two more years and apply to competitive colleges and universities or, instead, to graduate at what is typically high school’s halfway point and immediately enroll in community colleges. Those who fail the tests will have the opportunity to take them again at the end of their senior year.
Modeled after state-sponsored education systems in Denmark, England and Singapore, the opportunity to graduate ahead of time could potentially curb dropout rates. Students who are interested in vocational school or specific trade-oriented careers might be more inclined to finish school rather than suffer through their first two years only to fall off track.
The National Center on Education and Economy hopes the modification will also encourage high schools to teach basics sooner. According to the group, some students who eventually end up in college aren’t familiar with remedial material, struggle through introductory courses and drop out.
The option to leave high school with a diploma in a fraction of the time is not a danger to our society. Rather, it is an inclusive plan for students who are in danger of escaping the public school system without a diploma. The initiative will hardly derail students who are already bent on obtaining a degree from a four-year college or university, but will serve to support and accommodate those who might have never been on that track in the first place. In short, it could prevent those last few grains of sand from falling through the cracks.
The American education system can only fail if it does not address the needs of the people it serves, and the structure of a four-year high school should not be inflexible. According to a report released by the Center for Labor Market Studies in 2009, 16 percent of high school students &- nearly 6.2 million &- dropped out of high school in 2007. It does not take a college graduate to understand that such a figure is not the ideal.
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