Inside the fabrication lab at Cabrillo Middle School in the Santa Clara Unified School District in California, you won’t find students sitting at desks. Instead, you’ll see eighth-grade participants chatting excitedly, running software modeling programs, and operating laser cutters, bandsaws, and 3D printers. It’s loud, a bit raucous, and highly productive. Students in the program, known as the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute, aren’t graded on tests and quizzes.