Being
Phased Out
During the mid- to late-1800s, urbanization and industrialization in the United States created a dramatic need for a larger system of education to replace the one-room schools that were the norm. Huge groups of people--including immigrants--moved to cities, and their children increased the enrollment of urban schools. Schools had to manage large numbers of students instead of meeting the needs of individuals. At this time, Horace Mann's model of a graded school system began to take root. Graded education meant that students were classified and graded by age. By the early 20th century, Mann's model had become the predominant model in schools across the country and it remains in that position today (Stone, 1995; Anderson & Pavan, 1993; Miller, 1993; Cohen, 1990).
