There is a model of education called "competency-based education", or "competency education". The core idea is to let students move on to new material when they

There is a model of education called "competency-based education", or "competency education". The core idea is to let students move on to new material when they have mastered the current material, not when they have put a certain amount of time into a class. This model does not focus on intelligence. It sets out learning targets for every student, and then lets students make progress at their own pace. Ideal high school version: A student enters high school, and there is no notion of 9th-10th-11th-12th grades. As a new student, you are given a list of all possible things you could learn. With a teacher, you map out everything you will need to learn, to become a well-rounded person and to prepare you for what you want to do after high school. When you complete this map of learning targets, you are finished with high school. Finish in two years, fine. Finish in six years, fine. There are many practical issues to sort out in this model, but it is being done. When it is done well, it addresses many issues in education that arise from schools being these places where people are "stuck" for four years at a time. Sources, for anyone really interested in this: "Making Mastery Work" is a study of a number of schools that have been implementing competency education. It looks at the commonalities in the different schools' approaches to competency education, and how they differ. http://www.competencyworks.org/resources/making-mastery-work/ http://www.competencyworks.org/resources/making-mastery-work... The CompetencyWorks site in general is a great resource for anyone interested in this model of education. http://www.competencyworks.org/ http://www.competencyworks.org/