eliminate 12th grade?

that's what senator chris buttars is proposing in utah. he believes it is a financially strategic move to eliminate the fourth year of high school throughout the state, calling 12th grade a time for "nothing but playing around."

i do not have direct knowledge of the quality of education in utah,* but this is a bad move in my opinion. the worst case scenario is that this would become a trend for other states.

i will concede that for some students, senior year is a time for slacking off. but this is certainly not true for all students. some students take college prep classes, some strengthen themselves athletically, while still others use internships to prepare for both the workplace and college applications. some students are still catching up on fundamental principles.

i see a lot of students in college who i feel are unprepared for college. many lack even basic writing skills, let alone critical thinking skills. further, if senior year were eliminated, that would mean more 17 year old students in college. another bad idea. perhaps it is up for debate on how much a person matures and grows in one year, but from 17 to 18, it is considerable for most people.

* the article does note that utah "ranks 50th among the 50 states in per-pupil spending, according to the U.S. Department of Education."