I remember seeing this in Germany, too. And many British colonies (as well as the UK) have that O-level and A-level structure. I taught A-levels for awhile in East Africa (the kids were as smart as and harder working than my current American college freshmen, if you're curious). That system seemed much like ours, but with the O-level as an early out for technical professions.

Yet in Germany, is there as much emphasis on "liberal" education? ("Liberal" in the Greek sense, not the political sense.) It was my impression that students are done with general knowledge at age 14 unless they're Gymnasium-bound. Am I wrong?

It seems to me that a loss of liberal education would run counter to American values, which celebrate the well-rounded individual and resist closing doors for people until the last possible second. (Can we be SURE a 14-year-old is not college-bound?) On the other hand, I agree that part of the problem here is that most jobs require technical training. There's desperate demand in health and computer professions, for example, that only require 2-year degrees, and if this could be made free and delivered earlier, that might be a good thing. Raising the minimum wage probably wouldn't hurt either, though let's not start THAT debate.