A revolutionary approach to education is just beginning to take root in schools around the country.
What's surprising people most? The focus on standardized testing is a very small part of measuring what kids know.
Dulce Garcia and Victor Perez are both 11 years old. Ask them what grade they're in, you won't get a traditional answer.
"A level 7 in math, reading level 7."
At Hodgkins Elementary school outside Denver, Colorado there are no grade-levels. In fact there at no grades, period.
Kids are grouped not by age, but by what they know.
Jennifer Gregg's literacy class is made up of kids ages 8 to 10, with four different readings levels.
"It's so individualized. We're filling in the gaps so they can move on," Greg says.
It's known as Standards-Based Learning, modeled on the belief every child learns in their own way.
Principal Sarah Gould helped put the system in place two years ago.
She says, "Every student in every class is learning at exactly the spot that they're supposed to. For the first time every child is getting exactly what they need, when they need it, and how they need it."
No one moves to the next level without testing, at the equivalent of a C or higher.
For years, the school district has been on an academic watch list, mainly because of below-average standardized test scores.
Mother and School Board President Vicki Marshall helped convince parents they needed to try this and make it work.
She says, "Their biggest concerns were around how are you going to assign a grade point average to my child."
But changing course is not easy. Educators estimate it takes three to five years for standardized-test scores to go up.
So far 300 schools nationwide have tried it, and half couldn't stick with it.
Some of the educators who helped implement this model say without strong leadership and community support, it won't work.
