Our son finished his last two years of high school at the local community college and earned dual credits toward High School and College both. He graduated from High School and earned an associate degree in the same week. Some kids are ready to move on much earlier than others. This sounds like a great program!

You mean being forced to endure the full four years alongside pilled-up, ADD delinquents might not be the optimal course of action for bright and talented students?

In Ohio it was impossible (or nearly so) for kids to graduate from high school early. Although it was easy enough to get most of the necessary credits in two years, English required four full years of courses (no, you couldn't meet the requirements in summer school).

We finally managed to get around that when the state began to allow high school credit for college courses. My kids were able to take a few college level English courses to meet the high school requirements.

They graduated at the end of their sophomore year with a full year of college credit. Now that's a real 'head start" program.

Pretty easy to someone with a high IQ or without learning disabilities, OP. Not so easy for those with less innate capabilities. One advantage of such a program would be to get the really talented students out the door more quickly, giving more time for those who struggle to get the help they need.

In today's high schools, the middling student with a learning disability gets left behind. With the push to teaching to the test, those who have trouble with standardized tests are at a huge disadvantage. Often that LD is in math, yet the current rules require everyone to pass a standardized test on second-year algebra to graduate. And we all know that there are many careers ahead that will not require second-year algebra. Imagine if we required fluency in Spanish to graduate...yet adults knew that many people would never use Spanish again in their lives!

Once again, AZ leads the way. Watch out, California -- you'll lose your status as trend-setter if you're not careful.

What could be wrong with actually holding both students and teachers accountable to high standards of excellence? Ask any liberal and she will give you a dozen reasons why this is bad, none of which have to do with improving the knowledge base of the children or the teachers.

Sounds like a wonderful opportunity education program. Arizona parents who like this program had better vote Republican or it will disappear under the Demonrat Race to the Top equality for everyone academic masterplan.

#4, I agree. I wish that high schools did more on the vocational side. Back in the old days, the 80's, when I was in school, a kid could graduate hs and get a job as an electrician or plumber. That student spent the hs years getting training in a job that would support him/ her. Now that kid has no skills, but he graduates knowing America sucks.

It's uplifting to read of such programs during these times when we hear of massive incompetency in America's classrooms. Huge applause for Arizona, a state which has become a shining example for other states interested in the encouragement of educational prominence.

This is nice if the interest was sincerely in helping the KIDS, but I suspect it will become more of a status-symbol kind of thing for the parents ("MY Johnny finished high school early") where sooner or later for a price ANY kid can get into the program...

Newt Gingrich once said that the last two years of high school was a taxpayer funded dating service, that most kids could finish up H.S. in two years or less if they were motivated. However, the teachers' unions are not going to like this movement.

The high schools will be left with great football and basketball teams for years... and years.

Good for Arizona! "Oh, but she'll miss prom and the other important social aspects of high school," was what was told to us. Since they wouldn't allow me to graduate early, we pushed and I became one of the first high school students in Wisconsin to take college courses 43 years ago.

This is great news. But I fear that colleges will find ways to ignore or invalidate such earned credits.

My granddaughter took college credit courses in high school and graduated from college in 3 years. Although the courses in high school were paid by the parent, they were not as costly as they would have been at the actual college.