
Innovative Middle School Model
Khan World School at ASU Prep is very different from most middle schools. Learning is self-driven and self-paced in a mastery-based model with a grading scale of A, B and In-progress. We combine History and English Language Arts into a single Humanities class. We integrate science subjects and compress math to allow for accelerated learning.
Advance at Your Own Pace
We have three levels of learning rather than the traditional 6th, 7th and 8th “grades”. Students may move to the next level as soon as they meet mastery in a core area and could be working at different levels in each subject area.
- Levels 1-2 condense 6th–8th grade curriculum standards into two years
- Level 3 includes high school core courses with middle school social support
- KWS students will leave middle grades with at least four high school credits and be well prepared for the next level of schooling


Exploratory
The Exploratory program is how Khan World School level 1–3 students prepare for high school and the real world. Nine Exploratory badges are required for promotion to high school. Students may earn these badges at any time, in any order. Many of them will require independent study. Exploratory badges include:
- Civics/Government
- Coding (Level 1&2)
- Economics
- Arts & Music
- College & Career Exploration
- Physical Education
- Study Skills & Digital Citizenship
- Socratic Seminar (Level 3 only)
Academic Schedule
Collaborative learning is one of the unique components of the Khan World School. Learning and assessment happens through both independent study and in-depth discussion. Each day includes 1.5–2 hours of synchronous learning time with guides and peers. There is also time for individual instruction and small group mentoring.
A House Guide will customize course-taking plans to meet the learning needs of each individual student.

Middle Grades Courses
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Exploratory Badges (required for promotion to 9th) |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Humanities ELA + World History | Humanities ELA + US History | English 9 Honors | Coding Level 1 | Government/Civics |
World History Honors | ||||
Math 6/7 (or at higher placement) | Pre-Algebra (or at higher placement) | Algebra | Honors (or higher placement) | Coding Level 2 | Economics |
Integrated Science Year 1-2 | Integrated Science Year 2-3 | Biology Honors | Art & Music | College & Career Explore |
Exploratory | Exploratory | Exploratory | Physical Education | Study Skills & Digital Citizenship |
Highly recommended: HS World Language | Socratic Seminar (Level 3 only) |
Reading & Writing
KWS aspires for its students to be extremely well-read. This means having the time and space to read more widely than is typical. We also believe literature should be enjoyed and students should have agency over what they read (with some guardrails from the program to ensure quality and diversity).
Writing is also a key element of our program and because we combine English and History in to “Humanities” students have abundant opportunities to express their thinking in various forms of writing.


Student Support
While we love to empower students with agency over their learning, we also realize students this age need both academic and emotional support, sometimes a lot of support. The center of that support system are the House Guides. These assigned Guides are the go-to resource for both academic and personal advice.
Each student will have two to three instructional guides leading their learning journey for their core courses. And tutoring is available from Small Group Mentors. Sometimes these are professional educators and sometimes more senior students.
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