In modern times, it is no surprise that there are myriad problems and negative events throughout the traditional education system. School is not a choice, but a mandatory duty that every child must fulfill almost daily. Depending on grade level and workload, the average student spends nearly 8 hours a day studying in school or completing that day's homework (US Bureau). This indicates that most of a student's time in secondary education is consumed by school and related work. Since this is a mandatory role, it is imperative that these students are not forced to do such work, but instead are interested and involved so that they can enjoy this work. Although there are many reasons why a student may do poorly in school, a substantial cause is the grade level system flaws involved in most schools. The elimination of grade-level systems is not entirely unheard of or practiced, but it has not been sufficiently disentangled to show the benefits of alternative school systems. One of the practical and beneficial obstacles to the grade level system is the non-traditional standards-based system. CV. This reform dissolves the school levels in its entirety (i.e. reading in third grade or mathematics in seventh grade), but maintains a level corresponding to the difficulty of each course. These 10 different levels are measured by the student when choosing proficiency from the following four categories: “I need help,” “I think I can do it,” “I know I can do it,” 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 himself believes he is competent. A student would ideate... halfway through the exam ......things are no longer trivial, but are becoming problematic to an unacceptable level. Not only does standards-based curriculum provide a positive improvement to actual weaknesses, but it is also able to ignore broader issues altogether. A student's educational experience can be immensely improved and advanced with a radical change in a system like 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. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Graphs by topic: Students.” United States Department of Labor. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2, 2011. Web. March 6, 2012. Parkhurst, Emily. “Portland schools may be moving away from traditional grade levels.” The forecaster. Sun Media Group, December 5, 2011. Web. March 6. 2012.