Condensing high school to three years | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

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Get Schooled: Condensing high school to three years

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Should we give high school students easier routes to graduate in three years?

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By Maureen Downey

While few teens graduate high school in three years -- around 3 percent nationwide -- the idea is gaining traction. I know a lot of kids, including one of mine, who would have benefited by compressing high school into three years. 

It is possible in Georgia to finish high school in three years, but it falls on the students to push the issue.

Last year, the Wall Street Journal wrote about states that give high schoolers incentive to graduate early, including Indiana, Minnesota, Utah, South Dakota and Idaho. The Journal reported that the states offer early grads aid for college, noting: 

Twenty-four other states explicitly allow early diplomas for students who earn required credits. Others are expanding ways students can earn college credit in high school, or high-school credit in middle school or junior high.

Proponents argue that the programs cut states' school spending and help families with college costs. They also eliminate "senioritis," a time when some students slack off on learning, says Jennifer Dounay Zinth, a senior policy