Thank you! I knew I could count on you to explain it! I suppose in New York we have something roughly similar, in that we have Regents exams, which everyone now has to take (they used to be optional, and you could get a Regents diploma, which you needed to get into college, or a regular, non-Regents diploma, which would satisfy having a high school degree), and we have Advanced Placement exams, which aren't required, but entirely optional, but can get you college credit. But Regents exams are taken at the end of certain courses (11th grade English, 3rd foreign language, every year of math, every science, US History, and Global Studies [or whatever they're calling it now, it's a 2 year world history course]), so I took my first Regents exams at 13 (because I was "accelerated" and so started high school math and science in 8th grade instead of 9th). Of course, they've changed a lot of organization in the relatively short time since I graduated. And they took analogies off of the SATs too. By the time my kids get to high school, it will probably be nothing like what it was when I was there (except for the social nightmares that are a high school universal).
no subject
I suppose in New York we have something roughly similar, in that we have Regents exams, which everyone now has to take (they used to be optional, and you could get a Regents diploma, which you needed to get into college, or a regular, non-Regents diploma, which would satisfy having a high school degree), and we have Advanced Placement exams, which aren't required, but entirely optional, but can get you college credit. But Regents exams are taken at the end of certain courses (11th grade English, 3rd foreign language, every year of math, every science, US History, and Global Studies [or whatever they're calling it now, it's a 2 year world history course]), so I took my first Regents exams at 13 (because I was "accelerated" and so started high school math and science in 8th grade instead of 9th).
Of course, they've changed a lot of organization in the relatively short time since I graduated. And they took analogies off of the SATs too. By the time my kids get to high school, it will probably be nothing like what it was when I was there (except for the social nightmares that are a high school universal).