Haven't signed into your Scholastic account before?
Teachers, not yet a subscriber?
Subscribers receive access to the website and print magazine.
You are being redirecting to Scholastic's authentication page...
Announcements & Tutorials
Explore Primary Sources
How Students and Families Can Log In
1 min.
Setting Up Student View
Sharing Articles with Your Students
2 min.
Interactive Activities
4 min.
Sharing Videos with Students
Using Upfront with Educational Apps
5 min.
Join Our Facebook Group!
Exploring the Archives
Powerful Differentiation Tools
3 min.
World and U.S. Almanac & Atlas
Subscriber Only Resources
Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to The New York TImes Upfront magazine.
Article Options
Presentation View
Florida Goes Metric
Florida will use the metric system for high school field events.
One state is taking a small step—or maybe a “long jump”—toward the metric system. Florida is set to become the first state in the U.S. to ditch the imperial system—which uses inches and feet—in favor of the metric system in high school field events, like the pole vault and long jump. The U.S. is one of only three countries in the world—along with Liberia and Myanmar—that haven’t adopted the metric system as the official system of measurements and weights. Although the Florida High School Athletic Association (F.H.S.A.A.) intends to switch for this year’s track and field season, there aren’t any plans for the state as a whole—or the U.S.—to change just yet. Spectators of the high school events will see results in both metric units and inches and feet. So why the change? “We wanted to match [the system used in] the N.C.A.A.,” says Ed Thompson, director of athletics for the F.H.S.A.A. “And we wanted to improve precision—centimeters are more precise than inches.”
<p>noun—people who watch an event, often as part of an audience <br> </p>