Smoke? Being blown... er...
well-- being blown somewhere.
If we deconstruct this statement, then "robust" here generally means "able to withstand the abuse of novice users and hazardous field conditions," yes?
So it means that it can be just fine in the face of divergent thinkers. Doesn't bother the system at all...
"Advanced Learners." Hmmm.
Well, meaning "ready for advanced material" is one possibility. 'Advanced past the level that their peers are working through' is another...
Personally, that phrase doesn't indicate authentic differentiation much-- but that's given what I know. Take a look (if you can) at the specific materials in use in the coursework-- see if the same materials/text are used for multiple 'levels' of a class. If so, then that is a red flag for 'project-based' differentiation-- meaning MORE work, not more challenging.
As I recall, K12 has an 80%=mastery model. So once you get to that performance on assessments, you move on. It's not clear what (if any) other differentiation happens.