Whether you agree or disagree with their plans, it would be difficult not to recognize that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Tony Bennett, the state superintendent of public instruction, are thinking out of the box when in comes to public education.
One of their recent proposals is to give Hoosier students money to graduate early from high school. The students would be required to use the money for higher education.
As with most of Daniels and Bennett’s plans, this one is designed to save the state cash. Indiana would save on the cost, about $5,866 from the state per student per year, of educating students who opt out of school a year early. Granted, all or part of that money would then go to the student for college.
While the plan has merit for ambitious students who want to get out of high school and get on with their education, there are more questions than answers about the details of the plan and possible consequences — intended or not.
- How would students claim the money?
- Could students use the money at any college of their choice, or only at Indiana schools?
- Would it be more cost-effective for students to stay in school and take free advanced placement courses that count toward college credit?
- Would students who graduate in three years be allowed to continue participating in extracurricular activities at their high schools during what would have been their senior year?
- Would the program prove so popular that it essentially strips a school of its best students for the last year of their schooling, thereby diminishing the level of learning in the building?
- Would the plan be largely unappealing, and therefore not worth the expense of administering it, because it would cover only a small portion of the cost of getting a four-year degree?
Indiana House of Representatives minority leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, doesn’t agree with Daniels about much, but he embraced the governor’s plan for early graduation right away. He said it could keep kids from getting bored with too much high school, moving them along to an education of their choice.
Daniels’ plan, which would need to be refined and turned into law by the General Assembly, is worthy of discussion. But right now, it’s half-baked. And that’s the last thing our foundering education system needs.
What we do need are practical plans that are measured carefully by educators and then implemented, according to the merit of their educational value and cost effectiveness.