Our local school system is moving in this same direction. They are aspiring to have around 80% of the kids taking college courses or AP courses in highschool (pretty similar to the school district this article references). I don't see as how we can expect 80% of the kids to be above average. It doesn't make statistical sense to expect 80% of people to fall above the 50th percentile.
Then again, our other local district is in the habit of skipping kids grades without IQ scores. I believe that my older dd is one of the few kids for whom they've actually had IQ scores when deciding on a skip. In other instances, it is basically the parent pushing for the skip and the school saying that it is up to the parent -- no testing required.
