Report cards have been "updated" in 57 Houston schools to eliminate the "arbitrary" nature of the traditional A-F grading scale. The new system is supposed to "assess student performance more meaningfully and give parents a better idea of how their children are developing," reported the Chicago Tribune. Created by teachers in the Houston Independent School District, the system pegs students to one of eight stages: discovery, exploration, developing, expanding, connecting, independent, application, and synthesis.

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