Reply #12: We need to put students into groups based on abilities, not date of birth [View All]

[gimberly]

In order to succeed and grow, students need both ability and effort. By High School, there is a huge difference between the best and the worst students in a class. Therefore, teachers generally water down the lessons and aim for the middle and try to help as many students as possible. If all the students in a class were closer in abilities, then lessons could better target the particular skills that need to be worked on. When students master a skill, they should be allowed to go to the next topic, with a new teacher and new classmates. Splitting education into 12 distinct grades based on birthdate is a waste of time. Being with the same peer group and teacher for an entire year makes things stale. There is not enough incentive for the hard working students to push themselves to learn and develop skills and move on. We need a system that is more responsive and less rigid, but I don't see it happening any time soon.