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As school districts across the nation drill the basics into kids to bolster those standardized test scores, Adams 50 school district in Westminster is going in a radically different direction.
When elementary and middle-school students return in the fall, they won’t have any grades to worry about. There won’t even be grade levels, as the 10,000-student district seeks to reverse its low test scores and rising dropout rate. That’s according to The Christian Science Monitor, which reports that officials are adopting a “standards-based” approach that has been successful in parts of Alaska. Students will advance depending on their mastery of a particular subject, not by age or grade.
See for yourself. Last month, News 5/30 in Colorado Springs highlighted the plan in a story that includes video.