Rethinking Academics in Our Schools

Moving Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Learning Toward Feedback, Mastery, and Growth

In our most recent episode of I Demand a Meeting, Jesse and I tackled a question that more educators need to ask honestly:

Is the academic model we are using today still working?

Schools are filled with dedicated teachers, strong curriculum, and good intentions, but many of the systems we rely on were designed for a different era. The world has changed, students have changed, and expectations have changed, yet the structure of schooling often looks exactly the same.

The issue isn’t a lack of effort. The issue is that the model itself is outdated. Much of traditional schooling was built around efficiency and standardization, not around what we now understand about learning differences, engagement, and long-term growth. Families increasingly expect education to meet the needs of their specific child, not simply deliver the same experience to every student.

One of the biggest weaknesses of the traditional model is that it forces teachers to aim for the middle. When teaching to the middle becomes the default approach, both struggling and advanced students are underserved. Some students fall further behind because the pace moves too quickly. Others disengage because the pace is too slow. Uniformity is often treated as fairness, but it rarely produces equal outcomes.

This is why personalized learning is no longer optional. Personalized learning is not about lowering standards or removing structure. It is about recognizing that students learn differently and may need different pathways to reach mastery. Some need repetition and support. Others need challenge and deeper application. The goal remains the same, but the approach must adapt. Effective teaching requires flexibility, and the best classrooms are the ones where instruction adjusts to the learner instead of forcing the learner to fit the system.

A major theme of our conversation was the importance of feedback. If we want students to grow, feedback must be ongoing, clear, and actionable. Too often, students only receive feedback through grades, and by the time the grade arrives, the learning moment has passed. Real feedback functions like coaching. It helps students understand what they missed, why it matters, and how to improve while the learning is still happening.

This connects directly to another issue we discussed: point chasing. Many students are not pursuing learning, they are pursuing a score. They ask, “Is this graded?” because the system has trained them to value performance over mastery. That mindset weakens long-term learning and often makes students less willing to struggle through difficult concepts. When grades become the goal, students stop taking risks and start doing only what is necessary to protect their average.

If education is truly about growth, then assessment should support growth. Grades should not be treated as a final verdict. They should reflect learning over time. Assessment should guide instruction and help students take the next step toward mastery, not simply measure what they knew on one particular day.

For school leaders, this is an opportunity. Not to chase trends, but to challenge outdated assumptions and rethink what education could be. Tradition has value, but tradition cannot become an excuse to avoid change. The future of education will be shaped by leaders willing to adjust the model and focus on what matters most: whether students are actually learning.