SchoolFinder Blog

High School for 5 Years?

For all of you who can’t get enough of high school, you may want to consider moving to Indiana, where governor hopeful Long Thompson is pushing to add a fifth year.
 
Thompson feels that by adding a fifth year, graduation rates will improve and the state taxpayers would avoid the costs associated with high school dropouts.

She also argues that many high school students need more time and by having an extra year, more students would graduate and earn better grades. With higher qualified graduates, more students will also go to college, so she is also pushing to expand college scholarships from private donations.

Currently, Indiana’s graduation rate is at 76.5% and students that decide to take an extra year don’t count toward the graduation rate. With Thompson’s plan, the extra year would be incorporated in the graduation rate.

Thompson’s goal is to achieve a 100% graduation rate within the next five years.

For each student that spends an extra year in high school, the school will pay anywhere between $6,000 and $11,000 per student. Not all students will take advantage of the 5-year plan, but those that do may put a strain on a school’s budget.

I don’t think this plan is all that bad. I personally would wrap it up in 4 years, but for students who need a little more time, this can help them get their diploma.

From personal experience, most people I knew that struggled through high school or didn’t take it too seriously didn’t go on to college. Or, if they did, they didn’t stay long. However, they may have changed their ways if they had the option of staying behind an extra year to get their act together.

I am interested in seeing how Thompson’s proposal will hold up in the upcoming election. Thompson is up against Daniels, who is proposing a plan to pay for the first two years of community college for high school graduates – an excellent plan in my humble opinion.