RE: Question 2: Single curriculum

It make little sense to me to set a universal standard so everyone would be "able to choose" going to a four-year college right out of high school. First of all, a large portion of the student population will never go to a four-year school. And any universal curriculum that is widely achievable by all has to be set at the lowest common denominator unless you believe in the Lake Wobegon distributional theory. Therefore it wouldn't ask enough of many student who have the potential for doing more. Furthermore in the world of endless second chances, anyone who later decides to go to a four-year school has a path for achieving that goal provided he can do the work. Of course all students should be given the knowledge of what it takes to go directly to a four-year school so they can make an informed decision.

The question is how high to set bar for a curriculum and demonstrated competencies. There will always be a tension between losing some students and not asking enough of others. But graduating should mean something in terms of academic achievement. Perhaps we should think of what are the basics that will be necessary to function adequately in the world.

Beyond a basic graduation requirement, it possible to have diplomas that would differentiate between varied levels of added achievement and competency. Hopefully those levels would come to have meaning beyond high school such as in consideration by employers.