Unlike conventional colleges and universities, Western Governors doesn't require students to spend a set number of hours in a classroom, average out their performance on assignments and tests, then hand out letter grades and credits. Using a complex system of assessments developed over the two decades the university has been operating, WGU's method is competency-based, requiring that students prove they've mastered all the skills and knowledge offered in a given subject area. A dramatic departure from the conventional "seat-time" standard, competency-based assessment allows students to proceed at their own pace, a feature that's attractive to both those who want to accelerate their degree program and for older-than-traditional-age students juggling schoolwork with families and jobs. This article provides an inside peek at learning and assessment at Western Governors University and looks toward the potential of similar systems in the K-12 realm. The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 opened the way for primary and secondary schools to experiment with this and other new kinds of testing, and states that include New Hampshire, Kansas, Maine, Arizona, Colorado, and Vermont are also giving it a try.