Theoretically, can anyone, any age go to high school? Sometimes you’ll see news stories about 75 year old grandmothers who never got the chance to finish school going back to high school, doing the work, and finally getting their diploma. So at least in those cases, there does not seem to be an upper age limit on being allowed to go to high school. Is this true at any age? What if a person already has their HS diploma – are they officially barred from ever enrolling in high school again? What if you’re just a 17 year old who just graduated and you’re not ready to go to work or college; could you sign up for a fifth year and take all those extracurricular and AP classes you couldn’t fit into your schedule before? What if you’re a 35 year old who just wants to go back to school and learn some new skills? And what if your local high school is one of those schools that allows their upperclassmen to only attend the classes they need to graduate – so that some students can rig their schedule so that they only need to be their for a half day. If you live near a school like that, could you legally just sign up for, say, the intro Spanish course?
Of course, why someone would want to subject themselves to unnecessary time in high school is another matter; I’m just curious if it’s even an option.
Most people past their teen years tend to prefer getting a GED instead. That being public schools only have to admit school-age children who live withing their service area. The upper age limit is 20/21 in most places. And if all you want to do is learn some new skills or take a Spanish class you can just enroll as a non-degree student at your local community college. Of course if a high school really didn’t have any legal option but to admit a 35 it could make eir life very unpleasant simply by treating em “just like any other student” (cause discrimination is bad . Meaning uniforms, hall passes, only being allowed to got the bathroom twice a say (my HS actually did that), etc.
When I was in high school you had until age 21 to graduate. After that the state would not allow you to attend because of some sort of money/time limit of legal obligation to educate a student issue. I recall this being an issue for just one student, though, so I didn’t hear much about it. Adult education courses exist for older adults to continue their educations, however.
Like others have responded, depends on the school district or private school. Another factor, aside from age, is the amount credit hours that were needed to complete high school. Having worked with GED students, I know that, at least in my region, the youth could be 16 or 17 and would be told to get his/her GED rather than return to high school. The main reason being that the youth had very few high school credit hours that he/she would probably have to start in sophomore year in order to get back in track.
For adults, i.e. 21 and over, high school counselors will usually refer them to GED or High School Equivalency programs. Most adults prefer acheiving their GED. Without counting GED training, an adult can get a GED in about month.
In order to increase your GPA and take college prep courses? Most likelyhood the counselor will recommend that you take subject specific college entry tesst so that if you score at certain level they can be used as college credit hours.
I have never met a person that has graduated from HS and gone back.
Probably you’ll be asked to take classes at your local community college for specific fields or certificates. Most of the “new skills” are best gotten at community colleges.
A person of any age can complete their High School coursework and recive a diploma from The American School. I learned about this from the home shool community. This is also the correspondence school which Dear Abby recommended in a column a few years ago. One can pay their tuition monthly; a full four year tuition is around $900, IIRC. This is a great option for home schoolers or students who cannot attend a brick-and-mortar school because of health issues. It’s also a great way for the older person to “go back to HS” and get a diploma.
::nitpick::
The link provided is for the “Missouri State High School Activities Association” which prevents athletes over nineteen from particpating in sports. It doesn’t stop them from joining school.
What about the other end of the age spectrum? Can an 8 year old who has the knowledge of a 15 year old skip several grades and enter high school? What is the minimum age?
Yes, there are many examples of child prodigies who’ve enter high schoo (and even college) before their teens. One boy even graduated medical school at 17.
At least as far as I understand it, by Norwegian law anyone who has not obtained a secondary school diploma is eligible to attend upper secondary (videregående skole, the nearest equivalent to an American high school), as long as a space is available. My husband, after a bad experience in lower secondary (ungdomsskole, roughly like an American junior high or middle school), took a year off, worked full-time, and got back the drive to continue his education. He attended upper secondary as one of the more motivated pupils in his class. However, pupils who have just finished lower secondary have first priority when spaces are allocated, and in practice it’s hard to go back these days. Larger municipalities have special schools for adults who never got their upper secondary diplomas, and private schools allow non-traditional pupils to attend (as well as letting those who aren’t satisfied with their scores re-take single classes, for example so that they can get into a competitive university program).
My school district got a request from a 33 year old woman to attend high school for three years so that she could get a diploma. I believe she was interested in HS instead of the GED program because she was on public assistance and it would continue without problems as long as she was in school. The request was granted and she did graduate. She was treated pretty much like any other student, except that she signed her own permission slips. When I had her in class I was amazed to find she was incredibly immature, even having her own little flock of 14 year old friends.
I have no idea if the policy has been changed since then, but I seriously doubt a man over 21 would be allowed to attend high school. The policy for special ed students is that they can finish the school year in which they turn 21, whether or not they graduate then.
My great aunt, at age 106, got a notice from the local school system that she was required to enroll in first grade. (Actually, the notice was addressed to her parents.) Apparently the local school system computer only allowed 2 digits in the age field.
So she actually showed up at school, saying she was there to start first grade. They were surprised & embarrassed, and explained that it was a mistake, and that she didn’t really have to attend first grade. But she said that a lot had happened since she took first grade the first time, and it would probably be worthwhile to go thru it again. So she did!
The teacher was smart enought to take advantage of it, and had her tell the students stories of what it was like when she had first attended school (100 years before), what her life was like at the time, etc. The kids loved it, and really enjoyed having her there. She continued to attend the class when her health allowed, at least one day a week, for much of the school year.
The local school district did allow her to attend, even though she was over the normal age limit.
Wouldn’t a school district be setting themselves up for a lawsuit if they allowed a woman over 21 to attend high school, but refused to allow a man to do so?
. Meaning uniforms, hall passes, only being allowed to got the bathroom twice a say (my HS actually did that), etc.