Schools say age doesn't matter

Do you have be a third grader to be in third grade?

Colorado's Adams 50 School District says no.

Starting next year, it will group kids based on ability instead of age.

"It's revolutionary for education," said Nikolaus Namba, a first grade teacher at F.M. Day Elementary School.

Adams 50 serves north Denver, Westminster, and unincorporated Adams County.

For years, it has struggled with low test scores and a low graduation rate.

The Colorado Department of Education has placed the district on academic watch.

That's when Superintendent Roberta Selleck says district leaders decided something had to be done.

"Obviously, what we're doing in public education is not preparing them for the next chapter in their life," said Dr. Selleck.

The district will shed the traditional kindergarten through 12th grade system in exchange for a standards-based model with assessment levels of one through ten.

Students of different ages will be grouped together by assessment level.

Students can only move on the next level if they show proficiency in the standards at their level.

"There's nothing magic about nine months in a classroom or at a particular grade level," said Dr. Selleck. "The critical component in our standards-based model is that time becomes the variable."

This model was developed by smaller school districts in Alaska.

Adams 50 will be the first larger school district in the nation to eliminate grade levels.

Dr. Selleck says this will allow students to learn and advance at their own pace.

Some students will be able to move up levels during the school year, while others may take more than one school year before moving up.

"We're not going to hold them back and we're not going to push them forward," said Namba.

Namba and other teachers will have classrooms full of students with the same academic skills.

Namba says this allows them to teach to everyone at the same pace instead of trying to cater to a variety of levels within the same classroom.

He says this will help students who are struggling.

"They won't be moved on and left behind," said Namba. "That's really what it is. Children tend to fall back and then continue to fall back and stay back because there's not enough time to go back and focus just on them."

Dr. Selleck says teachers and administrators are still working out the final details.

The day would start like this in elementary school:

- Students would start in a multi-age homeroom of students from 5-years-old to 8-years-old. Other homerooms would have 9-and-10-year-olds.

- The students would start the day before going off into three blocks to focus on the areas of reading, language arts, and math. Within those blocks, the students would change classes to meet in rooms with kids of the same assessment level. Outside of those three blocks, students would return to their homerooms for other subjects and for lunch, recess, art, etc.

Eventually, the district wants to have separate assessment levels for all subjects so students would be grouped to learn everything from physical education to music.

In the fall of 2009, elementary and middle schools will change over.

In 2010, the high school system will be adjusted.

After a student is proficient in level 10, that student is eligible for graduation, but, Dr. Selleck says that's when high school students can start earning college credits early, within their own high school.

"We need to make sure we're preparing them for their future, not our past," said Dr. Selleck.

When it comes to the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests, commonly called CSAPs, Dr. Selleck says students will be grouped back together by age just for the tests.

She says her system will still comply with the CSAP system.

"Some kids are going to do extremely well on that assessment and some, they won't do as well," said Dr. Selleck. But, that is no different than the structure it is today."

Namba says he is honored to be part of such a big movement.

He hopes the district can serve as a model for others in Colorado who want try a new approach to teaching kids, but, he admits it will be a tough transition for the public.

The district has been holding community meetings on this and will continue throughout the spring.

"We've been working on it quite a bit, talking with the community, explaining it to them. It's a scary thing for everybody," said Namba. "Explaining to a parent that, that their student is not a level 4, if they're supposed to be in fourth grade. That's gonna be extremely challenging."
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