In modern times, it is no surprise that there are a plethora of problems and negative events throughout the traditional education system. Schooling is not a choice, but a compulsory duty that every child must fulfill almost daily. Depending on grade level and workload, the average student spends nearly 8 hours per day either learning in school or completing that day's assignments (US Bureau). This indicates that a majority of a secondary school student's time is spent on school and school-related work. Since this is a mandatory role, it is imperative that these students are not forced to perform such work, but rather are interested and engaged so that they can enjoy this work. While there are a multitude of reasons why a student may perform poorly in school, a significant cause lies in the flaws in the grade level system that most schools involve. The elimination of grade level systems is not completely unknown or practiced, but it has not been sufficiently explored to show the benefits of alternative school systems. One practical and beneficial counterbalance to the grade level system is the non-traditional standards-based system. curriculum. This reform eliminates all school levels (i.e. 3rd grade reading or 7th grade mathematics), but retains a level corresponding to the difficulty of each course. These 10 different levels are measured by the student when he chooses his skill from the following four categories: "I need help", "I think I can", "I know I can" and "I can teach it” (Carpenter). This would allow students to progress not only when they are considered competent by teachers and administrators, but also when the student themselves believes they are competent. A student would get the idea...in the middle of a sheet of paper......problems are no longer trivial, but become problematic to an unacceptable level. Not only does the standards-based curriculum provide positive improvement to prevailing weaknesses, it is also capable of completely ruling out larger issues. A student's educational experience can be immensely enhanced and advanced with a radical change in a system such as the standards-based curriculum. Works Cited Carpenter, Jennifer. “Eliminating the Grade Level System in Public Schools.” Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo! Contributor Network, April 9, 2011. Web. March 6, 2012. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Tables by subject: students. » United States Department of Labor. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2, 2011. Web. March 06, 2012. Parkhurst, Emily. “Portland schools could move away from traditional grade levels.” The forecaster. Sun Media Group, December 5, 2011. Web. March 6. 2012.