Age segregation in schools, age grading, or graded education is the separation of students into years of education (grades, forms) by approximately the same age. It is based on the theory that learners of the same age at the same level of social and intellectual maturity should be taught at the same pace. Here, schools classify learners according to age cohorts with the expectation that those with similar age share needs, abilities, and interests. It also forms part of the standardized learning organized in stages and progresses in predictable and known ways.