I went to a public high school in New Hampshire and graduated two years ago, and find these tests intriguing. So much of what was taught in my school was a was

I went to a public high school in New Hampshire and graduated two years ago, and find these tests intriguing. So much of what was taught in my school was a waste of time, so I'm really happy to see the education officials actively trying to solve that problem. However, I'm skeptical about how useful these tests will actually be. The article says: "Or those who want to go to a prestigious university may stay and finish the final two years, taking a second, more difficult set of exams senior year." If students who do well on the test still have to stick around for two years more years, what was the point in taking the tests? To me it seems like the tests are a way to give diplomas to capable students who otherwise would have dropped out. That might work out really well -- all of my friends who dropped out of high school were perfectly capable of graduating, but they wouldn't have learned anything more and they didn't feel like putting up with the education system any longer.