Age‑based grades are structurally flawed

Historical cohort data show that organizing schools strictly by age produced large cohorts repeating years or dropping out rather than catching up, so grade‑level assignment has long failed to ensure learning progression. That failure suggests we should treat grade labels as administrative artifacts, not accurate measures of competency, and reconsider promotion, remediation, and school organization policies. — If age‑based grade structures systematically hide learning gaps and drive dropouts, policy should shift toward competency‑based progress and remediation rather than strict age cohorts.