Variety system (education)

The variety system is a common system of secondary education across Earth and Cyprus. It is defined by very large school sizes combined with small class sizes due to its focus on specialization in elective class selection.

History
The variety system was first proposed as a potential future education system by Allison Wallace, an activist for education reform from Wisconsin, in 2091. The idea became popular after she was elected as the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction in April 2099. The first variety-based secondary school was Madison High School in Madison, Wisconsin, which opened in July 2106; it was located in the center of the city and served the entirety of the high school age student population in the city's school district, which added to about 10,500 students at that point.

While the idea faced (and still faces) controversy, it was gradually expanded to several other school districts in Wisconsin and eventually became the standard for secondary education in 36 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces on the eve of the Nogales nuclear war. Many nogales countries implemented this system as well.

The system was used for secondary education in Taatiklatar and across most of Cyprus from the beginning. Today, 78% of secondary-aged students on Cyprus and 48% on Earth attend schools using this system.

Properties
The variety system is defined by its large school sizes but small class sizes. Typically, classes have no more than 20 students but schools can have anywhere from 5000 to 15,000 students in most cases, depending on grade level and location. To manage large campus sizes, personal transportation (a mini-pod system) is used.

Variety system schools generally have much more specialized elective options than non-variety schools, which allows students to pursue more specialized careers starting from a young age; this was the inspiration behind the name.

Controversy
The variety system of education has faced major scrutiny by some educators and activists, who argue that it is harmful to neurodiverse populations and carries much more risk of students getting lost than non-variety schools; this is a major reason the system is generally not implemented in primary schools, which were already smaller than secondary schools before the introduction of the variety system. It is also controversial due to long transportation times in rural areas and a perceived loss of a sense of community.