What if we let school children advance into a sort of "first retirement"?

Here is my idea. I hope that by posting it here it will be disseminated, maybe even panned out until adoption.

“First Retirement”

A plan for children entering the K-12 education process. This plan would lay a path for normal/average children to complete a set of specific educational goals at an accelerated pace if they so choose.

Through a series of tests given throughout their lives children would be able to advance past goal posts, and join their education level “peers”. These “peers” might be from different age groups. These peers would be given help (a teacher) to focus their peer team toward advancement towards the next goal post. Periodical testing would allow some peers to move on to more advanced peer groups.

Finally, a possible early completion of studies with results provable by standardized testing would render further education below the university level unnecessary.

These early finishers would not just be set free with a stipend. They would be tasked with a minimal amount of college level work, a career counselor/furhter education counselor, and a post as tutor to other children.

They would then be allowed to have certain days, and times off, or the ability to make their own schedule.

Maybe it could even run parallel to the standard model of K-12 education, allowing some hard workers, not just the well endowed, to push through.

This could save time, money, and give kids time to carefully consider the world they will be entering by giving them time to get out into it before they are encumbered by other responsibilities like having to pay to send themselves through school.

A “First Retirement” would not be for kids to just lay about (although they would be free to) it would give them a chance to get a feel for life outside of school.

This idea developed from my belief that all children can learn more, and learn it faster than they are being allowed.

What do you think?