Yeah. I should have said that it varies widely across the US. In fact, when I was in 2nd grade or so, there was a brief period where there were ``6th grade centers'', which were schools that had nothing but 6th grade taught there. Very weird. I think it might have had to do with transitioning the system between junior high and middle school. Regardless, the idea is that if you don't finish those 12 years of schooling (excepting those few that get to skip a grade), you don't get a thing.

Never heard that about getting a GED early. Pretty cool. In most circles, it's considered a ``Good Enough Degree''.