Today’s grades were developed as part of a particular approach to schooling that emerged with universal participation, large classes and the desire to treat all students equally. Under this approach, all students move along the same curriculum ‘conveyor belt’ at the same pace; are delivered the same year-level curriculum at the same time; and are then graded for performance before all moving to the next year’s curriculum. On production lines, the grading of products is a common feature of the production process. The problem is that learning is not like this. Instead, it is a continuous, ongoing process.