What are we doing with early college?

Really interesting look specifically at Bard College's early college programs, which raises some good questions not only about early college, but also what we're doing with educating kids for life:

...she pointed to research that suggests people with liberal-arts backgrounds have better career and salary outcomes, and more economic mobility, than those who have very specific skills. The focus on liberal arts, she added, is really an insistence on a lifetime of engagement as a citizen and member of society. Vocational education in particular, she said, can predetermine so much—what skills someone will possess, exactly which jobs they’ll be qualified for. As Bickford said, the last thing Bard wants is for early college to turn into early tracking. “It’s planned obsolescence for human beings and it’s really sad,” he said. Instead, he and Gamber want their students to have the freedom to explore beyond that.

A series of suggestions from Mr. O'Connell

Some research and suggestions from Mr. O'Connell this evening:

• Ed Reform act forbids tracking but allows "abililty grouping" concerns from Fordham Institute about "detracked" students
• Diplomas Now: does it duplicate what we already have? might it help out?
• National certification of principals (by National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for 2011, 'though I can find no mention of certifying principals on the site)
• minimize intrusions and interruptions inflicted on classroom teachers and on instructional time