Should the 12th grade be done away with in the US?

I dunno, I know a lot of kids are mature, but for me, I would have definitely not been able to get away to University at 17, I couldn't even call my 4-H leaders to see if we had a meeting (people I had known for years and years), I couldn't go into a shop and ask for something on the shelves, couldn't call to make a doctor's appointment, etc.  That extra year at home, senior year did me a world of good- afterall I moved to the UK by myself!

Or had lazy mothers like mine who were all too eager to get the kids behind the wheel and not only scheduling their own appointments but also driving themselves there.   

My sister did live at home until she married age 24, though.  She went to University of Houston, though, and spent a lot of time with her boyfriend-now-husband, who lived in a trailer on a friend's land.  She also worked full-time because she only wanted to go to university part-time (her choice) so they could afford to buy their own home when they married. 

Am I the only one who sat APs and IBs in 11th grade?

I don't even know what that means! 

Am I the only one who sat APs and IBs in 11th grade?

I never did an IB, but in 11th grade I took AP Chemistry, AP US History, AP Trig, AP English Comp and AP French...I took all the tests except AP French and Trig (for which there was no test for just lead on to Calculus) which I took in my Sr year and I scored 4/5 on all the tests.

What do AP and IB mean?

I did two APs in 11th and two in 12th.  The tests, that is, I did more classes than that.  Like Weby, APs got me out of a full year of college work.  So essentially I didn't do 12th grade, I did pre-college.  I hardly worked at all senior year and had four free periods in the middle of the day that I mostly spent lounging around taking long lunches.  It wasn't very useful, but it was great fun.

I'll Google it.

My senior year was a joke, but that doesn't mean I didn't get something out of it.  It's the last time that I remember not having to worry about anything (I didn't really care about college all that much even though I was going ) I just filled it up with art classes, yearbook (which was a class for us, not an extra-curricular), Crime & Justice and Russian History, and getting letters from local community colleges saying I went on tours so that I could ditch school and go to the beach/mall/New Hope, PA, etc.  I hated high school but I loved my senior year!

AP = Advance Placement   these are college/university level classes taken in high school.  If you score high enough on the exam you can get college/university credit

IB = International Baccalaureate  Many high schools around the world are offering these courses which are very difficult and highly acclaimed by most universities.

Both AP and IB are standardized exams so all students take the same exam, much like AS/A levels here in the UK

I have sort of mixed feelings about this. And it sounds as if I'm the only one. Like a lot of you, my senior year was full of studying, doing internships, etc. It was invaluable to me. Buuuuut ... not everyone goes to university and not everyone needs to go to university. If you plan on getting out there straight away and starting a job for which you don't need a college education, then I don't see why 12th grade is essential. It's nice that anyone who wants a university education has access to one, but I think there are plenty of really important and useful jobs for which a high school diploma is perfectly satisfactory. And for those jobs, I'm not sure a final year of high school is that relevant. I guess I like the system the way it is currently in the UK. You can either leave at 16, or continue on if you plan to go to university. It just makes more sense that way to me. It's a shame they're going to change it.

If you plan on getting out there straight away and starting a job for which you don't need a college education, then I don't see why 12th grade is essential. It's nice that anyone who wants a university education has access to one, but I think there are plenty of really important and useful jobs for which a high school diploma is perfectly satisfactory. And for those jobs, I'm not sure a final year of high school is that relevant.

Well I guess it depends on if not having 12th grade still means they get a high school diploma or not. 
Also, I wonder if those schools who don't have 12th grade loose accrediation- which basically screws their students who want to go onto higher schooling - whatever path that is. 

I know plenty of people who haven't even graduated high school and they're doing OK- mostly working in the construction, landscaping, manual labour fields. But they do struggle, especially in this economy, where they aren't getting extra work. If that had that piece of paper ,they'd have a better chance .

However, I also know plenty of people with just a high school diploma- and they're doing just great as well.  My dad being one of them.  In my mind, it’s not about the degrees (it was for me, but its because of what I wanted to learn!), but its about the training.  If a kid wants to leave at 16, that’s fine, plenty of people are not cut out for school- but they should get training along the way to make it easier to have better jobs.  Some of the best paid jobs- plumbers for example, require lots of traning, but not in the form of academic qualifications.   

But ultimately, I just think it’s a shame that a kid who wants to just be a teenager and enjoy themselves would have to leave school and start the real world sooner. The real world is hard enough- that’s why I think it’s better to let them have one more year to just do whatever it is they want to do …   

In my mind, it’s not about the degrees (it was for me, but its because of what I wanted to learn!), but its about the training.  If a kid wants to leave at 16, that’s fine, plenty of people are not cut out for school- but they should get training along the way to make it easier to have better jobs.  Some of the best paid jobs- plumbers for example, require lots of traning, but not in the form of academic qualifications.   

I agree. I think if there were sort of apprentice programs set up for kids who didn't want to go on to higher education, that would make sense. I just feel pretty strongly that university isn't for everyone and shouldn't really be pushed on everyone.

Gawd, the soooner they get a dose of the real world, the better, IMO.  

Being a 'teenager' is relative, depending on the culture and place where you're brought up.  

A lot of people around here are fairly mature as late teens because they have to go away even for college and some for secondary school even.

Depends on the person, but it might be good to have as an option for some who aren't university inclined at that age.

I agree. I think if there were sort of apprentice programs set up for kids who didn't want to go on to higher education, that would make sense. I just feel pretty strongly that university isn't for everyone and shouldn't really be pushed on everyone.

The HS I went to did just this. I did the College Prep/AP route but I did have friends that went the ROP program which did OJT and a combination of coursework 1/2 day at school and 1/2 day OJT.

Don't most places have Vo-Tech schools?  I guess I never thought about it.

We had morning or afternoon vo-tech and then you went to school the rest of the time.

You took the courses you needed (English, Math, History) that if you wanted to, you could go to college as long as you got the grades. 

http://www.lcti.org/456046526105021/site/default.asp

We all had to take a tour of the school when we were in 9th grade.  I was so tempted by Floral design. 

Don't most places have Vo-Tech schools?  I guess I never thought about it.

Yeap. We did, though it wasn't at our school, it was a regional school.

My friend in Uni went to a voke school for drafting/technical drawing (so did my Dad- and he's a Civil Engineering Project Manager these days) and she loved it. She was initially going into that field, but ulimately decided she loved the design behind the drawings even more and wanted to go into an engineering field.  Her tech education had huge advantages in her engineering career- however it also had huge drawbacks because she was well behind in the requisite coursework needed for the Engineering BS degree and had to go to Community College for 2 years before entering our 4 year program. So it took her 6 years instead of 4 for her degree. But she's definitely not complaining.