From the Boulder Daily Camera via Wizbang:

That's the idea being floated by some lawmakers, who contend many seniors spend the year marking time because they already have enough credits to graduate.

...

"I'd really like to see if we might change the model. We've been operating under the same education model for the last 100 years," Sen. Ron Teck, R-Grand Junction, said.

"Things have changed. A lot of society has changed. I think the model for education certainly is well past the point of being looked at."

The lawmakers considering this are looking at the issue from the wrong angle.

Teachers and schools are not going to be happy about a change like this because it will eliminate jobs and funding, even with the addition of a pre-school. Eliminating the senior year would be a mistake. Kids going off to college are young enough after their senior year, we don't need to send them off any younger. College freshmen face enough temptation at 17 and 18 years old, I can't imagine the type of disasters that would ensue should we start sending students that are even younger. In addition to this, the younger students from districts without a senior year would be less mature and less prepared than their peers putting them at a disadvantage that could have an adverse effect on their college careers.

Perhaps a better solution would be to offer more advanced classes for the students who have essentially completed their high school education early. An even better solution would be to have these students participate in other, lower-level classes as tutors or teacher assistants. I would imagine that the experience learned in that type of evironment would serve them well into college and it would also be beneficial to the students in the lower-level classes.

I don't see why the senior year of these students is being considered a waste. Lets face it, American students have not been measuring up to students from other countries. Wouldn't a situation like this be a good oppurtunity to "raise the bar" as it were? To challenge these students who are able to finish their high school educations early? Perhaps the classes being taken by students in their sophomore or junior years should be more challenging.

Anything would be better than simply eliminating a year of education.