Learning that officially never was. It nevertheless is. Could it become official?

[Boojatta]

Imagine tests that nobody is obligated to attempt, that have no age requirements for eligibility to attempt the tests, and that are for official academic credit recognized by state governments.

In no particular order, here are a few possible benefits of such tests:

* They could be used as diagnostic tests for college students who are having trouble in some subject area. Is the problem lack of preparation? Colleges don't know because there's a variety of different high school education systems, and a variety of different high school teachers.

* An entrepreneur could offer educational services to potential customers. After helping a relatively small number of people succeed at the tests, the entrepreneur would have objective evidence for future potential customers. Perhaps an entrepreneur could find an initial cohort of customers by providing educational services at very low cost, such as approximately what it would cost for the entrepreneur to earn minimum wage. Note that what I am describing is in a sense the opposite of a degree mill. The entrepreneur doesn't offer any kind of credential whatsoever. Therefore, the entrepreneur obviously wouldn't offer a misleading credential. The entrepreneur would offer only to help people learn.

* As the range of tests offered in a given state expands to eventually include all academic subjects studied from grades nine to twelve, young people would have a new option. If they are willing and able to learn independently of high school, then they could test themselves out of high school and gain admission to an environment more conducive to learning.