Instead of hanging out at the drugstore soda fountain, kids today are publishing research in scholarly journals. From The Washington Post:
"Across the country, new emphasis on rigorous college-preparation programs has resulted in thousands of high school students succeeding at the kinds of scholarly research that master's degree candidates tackle, educators say, even as some worry about the strain placed on 17-year-olds. A leading indicator is the growing number of high schools using the International Baccalaureate program, which includes a 4,000-word paper, called an extended essay, among its requirements. About 10,000 of these papers were written this year in the United States, six times as many as in 1990. In the Washington region, at least 20 public high schools have IB programs, and several more public and private schools are encouraging long research papers in selected classes."
