School without grade levels? A North Dakota district makes bold changes.

On windswept fields outside Fargo, N.D., a bold experiment in education has begun. In a lone building flanked by farmland, Northern Cass School District 97 is heading into year two of a three-year journey to abolish grade levels. By the fall of 2020, all Northern Cass students will plot their own academic courses to high school graduation, while sticking with same-age peers for things like gym class and field trips. 

The goal is to stop tethering teaching to “seat time” – where students are grouped by age and taught at a uniform, semester pace – and instead adopt competency-based education, in which students progress through skills and concepts by demonstrating proficiency.

That alone isn’t unusual; a majority of states now allow competency-based pilot programs, and many schools have fully implemented the approach. What makes Northern Cass notable is that very few mainstream schools, let

For students, more autonomyNavigating the issues of tests, self-pacingBreaking with cultural norms