By every measure, the education system in the United States is compromised. This problem has been approached from many points of view. From politicians to academic researchers, education has been a pressing topic for decades and one for which no viable ideas have emerged. Most often, the solutions offered have involved standardized testing or investing more money in a system that is fundamentally unworkable. The essential issue is that traditional approaches to teaching and learning have become obsolete for today's student body and modern culture. Taking a more progressive approach to the classroom is the best way to transform the education system. The theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI), first introduced by Howard Gardner three decades ago, is an example of a project-based teaching and assessment style (Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008). It encompasses nine different “intelligences” or ways in which students learn and offers a more comprehensive way to determine an individual student's intellect (Gardner, 2011). “Only if we expand and reformulate our view of what counts as human intellect will we be able to devise more appropriate ways to evaluate it and more effective ways to educate it” (Gardner, 2011, p. 4). Using MI to assess each student's aptitude will help reach more students and better prepare them for the world outside the classroom: emphasizing cultural diversity, teaching real-world skills, empowering students, and strengthening individual student self-esteem . To begin with, a noteworthy element of MI theory in the classroom is the importance it places on cultural differences within the student body. Clearly, one of the defining characteristics of modern society is the diversity... middle of the paper... of the mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. Retrieved from site.ebrary.com/lib/apus/docDetail.action?docID=10449816Kallenbach, S., & Viens, J. (2002). Open to interpretation: The theory of multiple intelligences in adult literacy education. Retrieved from http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report21.pdf#page=26Kezar, A. (2001). Theory of multiple intelligences: Implications for higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 26(2), 141-154.McFarlane, D. (2011). Multiple Intelligences: The most effective platform for 21st century global education and teaching methodologies. College Quarterly, 14(2). Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ962362.pdf Reiff, J. C. (1997). Multiple intelligences, culture and equitable learning. Childhood Education, 73(5), 301-304. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/210396597?accountid=8289