1) i would add four years to high school. if we all agree that we need more than 12 years of schooling to compete in today's world, the extra four years should be added to the public education system. functionally, this would mean that the existing universities would be converted into new high schools that teach grades 13-16. it would make sense to create new, smaller campuses in less centralized locations. we would rename grades 1-8 as elementary school, grades 9-12 as middle school and grades 13-16 as high school. these new high schools would function like high schools and not like universities. they would not be specialized, but have provide a broad based education. in our society, all students need four more years of english, four more years of computer programming or general use, four more years of science and should all be required to take courses in economics, law, civics and other areas that are required to function in reality. the society will be better off with a more educated populace, in addition to a more educated workforce.
2) that said, if you want to drop out of school at grade 12 and get a job in construction, you should also be allowed to do that. only up to grade 12 would be required by law.
3) the university system would need to adjust. it should continue to offer four year bachelor degrees and two year masters degrees.
4) however, the function of this new system would be different. most people would be expected to go to work after grade 16.
5) for the small number of people that continue to university, university tuition should be free, but entrance requirements should be extremely high. you would need to have straight 90s in everything all the way through high school to get into university, and you would not be able to pay your way to get in, at all.