Comments on: Testing out of high school in 10th grade

By: jm

jm — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:17:29 +0000

California has something like this already – CHSPE. Upon completion, one receives a high school diploma “equivalent”. This “equivalent” is the requirement for all community colleges in CA. One may take the CHSPE when they reach the 2nd semester of 10th grade.

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:58:04 +0000

Had some experience in the family on both sides of being younger than peers, and older.
Better to be bit older. Socially, athletically.
Imagine a bright fifteen-year old going away to college. Especially a girl
Shudder.
This should be coordinated by the high school and use only local institutions of higher ed.

By: hardlyb

hardlyb — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:49:20 +0000

Joanne, I suppose I might be talking about her. I don’t know the family that well, but I think that the father said he had been married before. The daughter was rather unusual, but very funny. There can’t be a lot of girls like that…

I didn’t date until I got to grad school, at 20, so I don’t think that it will hurt her a lot. Actually, I was a grad student in all but name at 18, but being 4-6 years younger than all of my classmates, and a huge geek, was too big a social barrier.

By: anon

anon — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:59:04 +0000

My son skipped 7th and 8th grades and started 9th grade at age 12. He graduated from high school at age 16 and started college the next fall. There is a private school in my area that he attended that has done this for over 50 years. He didn’t miss anything of value from 7th and 8th grades.

By: Crimson Wife

Crimson Wife — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:29:37 +0000

The question I have is will NH let bright sophomores take the harder exam if they wish and go straight to university or will they be forced to spend 2 years at the high school or a community college?

By: Joanne Jacobs

Joanne Jacobs — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:45:36 +0000

Hardlyb, you must be talking about my ex’s younger daughter, now a 15-year-old college sophomore. She lives at home and is not dating. She may have to wait till grad school.

By: momof4

momof4 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:19:15 +0000

Minnesota has (I assume it still exists) a state-wide PSEO (post-secondary enrollment option) program which allows qualified high-schoolers to take classes at the college of their choice and the local school district pays tuition, fees and books. Students must satisfy appropriate prerequisites or test into the appropriate course and provide their own transportation. It is primarily designed for juniors and seniors, but I know of kids who never attended high school but started at the local community college right out of middle school. My child participated in the program, concurrently taking AP courses at a very competitive high school, and we were all very happy with it.

This is somewhat off-topic, but it is not necessary to be enrolled in an AP course to be able to take the AP test. I have a child who passed several AP tests that way. Some were taken “cold” (no advance work of any kind) and some were prepped with the appropriate study guide.

By: hardlyb

hardlyb — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:44:37 +0000

I know a kid that started taking college classes at Santa Clara when she was in 7th grade, and after 8th grade started full-time there. She looks young for a college kid, but apparently even when she was in 7th grade the other students didn’t know that she wasn’t a regular student. I am pretty sure that she’s not dating…

By: Jay Dean

Jay Dean — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:28:21 +0000

So a student who tests out could leave school after 10th grade and go to college. What happens to a student who tests out, but doesn’t want to go to college. Is he required to stay in high school through 12th grade?

By: Terri W

Terri W — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:48:17 +0000

I did something like this as well, when I was in high school about 20 years ago.

One sort of strange side-effect that occasionally popped up would be when I’d be asked out by a guy, and I’d have to make it clear that I was only 16. One particularly memorable experience is when the guy’s mouth dropped open and said, “What? What?? It’s not even safe to go to College anymore!” So, yeah. There’s an assumption that if you’re on a college campus, you’re not a minor. And all that that entails.