Leave high school. Test out of college. Save $$. Find success.

Editor's note: There are plenty of questions around if college is really worth the time and money. Personally, I found a way to graduate college as a teen without going into any debt, so the decision wasn't too difficult. More and more people are finding innovative ways to have their cake and eat it too. Here's one such story.  

Guest post by Laura Fokkena. Cross posted at Rise Out: Leave School. Start a life.

I don't believe standardized tests are an accurate measure of learning. In fact, one of the reasons I encourage students to extract themselves from high school is because it means leaving behind a culture where education is gauged by letter grades and multiple choice exams. But I'm also strategic. If colleges want to award you a semester's worth of credit in exchange for a one-hour, $100 test? Why argue?

In the first year after my daughter quit high school, she took 14 standardized tests. This felt absurd even as it was happening. I'd supported her leaving high school so that she could skip the busywork and have more time for authentic learning experiences, yet here we were, purchasing SAT and ACT preparation books, which she studied in lieu of actual literature.

But I don't regret it, and here's why.
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