I was talking with my wife about just a complete do-over. Skip the year, and start over next year.
I'm not sure that's a great idea, but it's an idea.
This is a really interesting question. I've spent a lot more time recently thinking about the goals for K-12 education. How much of what is taught in any given year is critical to every student's life.
As a simple example, if a teenager goes a year without PE, do they really need to repeat the year to make that up? What about other electives?
Surely a high school graduate needs basic math skills, but do they need trigonometry and algebra 2 (let alone calculus)? How much English/literature learning do they need? What base of history/government does a high school graduate need?
Surely many students who go on to college will require more math, more literature, more civics, but are those things really required for a high school diploma? If so, why?
I'm not sure what the answer to this is. You can tell from my question that I'm not sure "repeating a grade" necessarily makes sense. But I'm not sure how you decide what is critical, and what can be left off. And once you've made that decision, what does it mean about the high school curriculum going forward? Is this a moment that will be a catalyst for a significant re-thinking of the education system?
A high school diploma is a gatekeeper for a lot of jobs that will never rely on most of what the curriculum includes. Emancipated adults (e.g., 18-year olds) should have what they need to live independently/make their own choices.
Anyway, it's an interesting thought piece.