Mastery Based Learning at a Glance

Determining Grades

The Essential Questions: What is the purpose of grades? How do you consistently and fairly determine grades? What constitutes an academic grade vs. a nonacademic grade? What are the benefits of using a mastery-based grading system?

A grade should accurately reflect a student’s mastery of clearly defined learning standards (Wormeli, 2006). The most effective grading practices emphasize accuracy, specificity, and timely feedback to promote learning and improve performance (Marzano, 2000, 2007; O'Connor, 2007). Recent research further supports this approach: mastery-based grading has been shown to reduce test anxiety, increase student confidence and achievement, and improve the predictability and transparency of academic outcomes (ASEE, 2024; PMC, 2023; Marzano, 2021). These systems align grades more closely with demonstrated learning and foster a growth mindset by allowing multiple opportunities to reach proficiency.

Non-academic behaviors, such as class participation and failing to turn work in on time, are not included in an overall grade because they dilute the ability to assess knowledge and abilities on academic standards. While negative behaviors such as poor attendance and disrupting class will almost certainly impact a student’s ability to learn, the grade earned should reflect what they can demonstrate academically. Punitive grading based on non-academic indicators is unfair, and each student should be held accountable for their own learning while undesirable behaviors are addressed through other means.

What is reflected in a grade at MHHS

• 90% of a student’s grade is determined by mastery of a concept and/or skill on Mastery Assessments
• 10% of a student’s grade is based on Mastery Assessment Preparation assignments
• Grades are a reflection of what students know, not just what they turn in
• Grades are tied to targeted objectives of skills or knowledge, which makes it easier to remediate students

What is not reflected in a grade at MHHS

• Deductions in points for turning assessments in late
• Extra Credit
• Poor student behavior
• Curved grades

Mastery Assessment Preparation  vs. Mastery Assessments 

The purpose of the mastery assessment preparation assignments (also known as formative assessment) is to help students learn new material and for the teacher to provide feedback. Each assignment should have an essential purpose and not just fill a role as “busy work.”

Grading Scale

The grading scale used at MHHS differs in the percentage breakdown from some more traditional grading scales used at other schools. The purpose for this is to more closely match the levels of the 4 level evaluation rubrics that are used to evaluate most student work. In a mastery based assessment system students must demonstrate at least minimal skill or understanding before moving on.

Benefits of a Mastery Grading System

• Rigor 

Students who earn an “A” in a course, have truly mastered and demonstrated understanding of a large percentage of course materials. Students do not earn grades through simple completion or compliance.

If we truly want students to master standards and skills, we have to increase rigor and have an equal or exceeding amount of support.  There are huge benefits to the research based mastery-grading system has been adopted at MHHS.  There are also many rumors about Mastery Grading.  Some of these are that an “A” is watered down.  The truth is that an A is actually more difficult to achieve at MHHS seeing that students must actually show mastery of a larger percentage of the content for a course. Another rumor is that allowing students to redo- or retake tests after completing error analysis will not prepare them for the real-world.  The truth is that requiring that students complete error analysis and receive help on what they do not understand and then reassessing them is common practice in the real-world.  This concept of taking and retaking major tests is true for most tests in professional life. Some examples would be the LSATs for Lawyers, the CSETS for teacher certification, and our driver’s license exam among others.

• Transparency 

The meaning of grades in a mastery based system is apparent. The grade represents what a student has been able to demonstrate mastery of and provides an accurate picture of what they have learned.

Students must know what the expectations are in order to do well. The foundation of a mastery based grading system are clear and specific learning objectives that are shared with students both in class and through the Canvas learning management system. Rubrics for meeting those objectives are shared with students so they know exactly what is expected of them in order to demonstrate mastery.

• Consistency

We want to make sure that we are as consistent as possible  in how we assess and grade students. This includes high quality, collaboratively developed, tests and assessments which account for 90% of a student’s grade. Traditional grading practices focus on different understandings of how teachers determine student mastery. In many schools, an “A” for one individual teacher might consist of 20% participation, 20% homework, 20% classwork and 40% tests while other teachers at the same school may have different percentage breakdowns.  These varying expectations across teachers on a campus even in the same subject areas may or may not show that a student is ready to move on to the next course and/or is prepared to do well in college and career.

• Focus on Quality

Students must submit quality work in order to demonstrate mastery of topics and move on. If the work that they submit the first time is not up to quality standards then they will be made to redo it and their time will be impacted. The goal is to get students to understand that completing high quality work the first time and submitting it on time is desirable and essential for success. They cannot get by simply by completion alone.

Practices that Inhibit Learning

• Using grades as punishment is proven not to work and does not create responsibility
• Basing grades on things such as attendance, attitude, and work habits does not result in an accurate or fair indicator of what students can demonstrate academically
• Not providing students with feedback in a timely manner

Deadlines and Late Work

The Essential Question: What is the appropriate response for missing or late work?

The true intent of teaching is learning. Students should be encouraged to finish their school work in preparation for developing content knowledge and skills that will allow them to demonstrate mastery on assessments. Since the goal of teaching is learning, it is far better to have students complete work rather than assigning zeros to missing or late work. The consequence for not doing the work should be making the student do the work. When the student completes the work, both the teacher and student benefit.

Consequences for Missing Deadlines

Meeting deadlines and completing quality work in a timely manner is essential to success in any learning environment. The most significant consequence for missing assignments and turning work in late is the loss of potential learning associated with the assignment. Teachers provide mastery assessment preparation assignments for students as a critical piece of the learning process. Students are expected to complete the assignments not because they will earn points towards a grade but because they will deepen the knowledge and skill base that will be utilized to demonstrate mastery. When students do not turn work in on time they also miss the opportunity to get feedback from the teacher at key points in the learning process.

The most significant consequence for not doing work is the lost opportunity of learning. If missing deadlines and assignments becomes habitual students will be placed in an intervention during any free periods such as flex and lunch or before or after school so that work can be completed in that setting.

Deadlines and the timely completion of work are important to support the process of learning. Students who complete assignments days, weeks, or even months after they were due miss out on the learning benefit of having completed them. Mastery assessment preparation assignments that are not turned in by the deadline will receive a grade of zero. Teachers may still require that these assignments be completed as part of the redo/ retake process.

Effective Possible Practices for Deadlines and Late Work

• Use the features in Canvas to lock assignments and mastery assessments until prerequisite assignments have been completed
• Set clear and specific learning goals and make sure each assignment is directly related to the goal
• Ensure clear communication of tasks and due dates
• Support struggling students
• Provide a window in which assignments can be turned in
• Consider allowing students to opt out of specific assignments if they can demonstrate mastery; the assignments can then be required if they are not able to demonstrate mastery the first time around

Practices that Inhibit Learning

• Not contacting parents of students who habitually turn in late work or have missing assignments
• Assigning work that is not directly related to mastering learning goals
• Referring to Mastery Assessment Preparation assignments as “10% assignments”

Evaluating Mastery

The Essential Questions: How do students know what they are supposed to master? How is student progress towards mastery evaluated? How is progress towards mastery communicated?

Standard and Measurable Objectives

The starting place for all effective instruction is designing and communicating clear learning goals. (Marzano and Brown, 2009) Teachers post learning goals and share them with students to set a clear direction for instruction and set the expectations of what students should be able to do. Each lesson is grounded in standard and measurable objectives that are posted both in class and in Canvas.

Evaluating Progress Towards Mastery

Rubrics built on standards and measurable objectives are used to evaluate most student work. A consistent 4 level rubric based on common learning objectives and aligned to the language of state tests and research is used across content areas.

Converting Rubric Scores to Percentages

Student work is scored using the 4 level rubric based on the criteria at each level. Students receive a score based on meeting the criteria defined at each level. Ultimately, the rubric score must be translated to a percentage grade for reporting. It is important to note that it is the score in regards to the rubric and not the percentage grade itself that communicates what the student has been able to demonstrate learning.

Effective Possible Practices for Deadlines and Late Work

• Use department collaboration time to develop common rubrics for assessments
• Share common rubrics for skills such as writing across content areas
• Post scales so that all students can see them
• Make reference to learning goals and/or rubrics throughout lessons
• Provide timely feedback that refers to scoring on the rubric
• Integrate opportunities for students to track their own progress towards mastering learning goals
• Have students brainstorm examples of what work at each level would look like or have them convert rubric language to student friendly language

Practices that Inhibit Learning

• Using inconsistent rubrics across departments or teachers

Mastery Assessment Preparation (MAP) Assignments

Mastery Assessments

• MAP assignments are not eligible for redo or late turn in.
• MAP assignments not turned in by the due date shall receive zero points.

• Teachers may choose to include the completion of MAP assignments as part of an error analysis prior to a redo/retake of a mastery assessment.  If all MAP assignments must be completed before redo/retake of a mastery assessment, teachers must publish this procedure in their syllabus.

• Students who do not achieve “Proficient” on an assessment have the ability to redo or retake the assessment.  Each department will determine and communicate the timeline and criteria for these redos and retakes through the course syllabi.  
• Students who do achieve “Proficient” on an assessment and wish to demonstrate “Advanced” competency have the ability to do so.  Each department will determine the process by which students can demonstrate this “Advanced” competency.
• If a student has not demonstrated a “Basic” level (which is a letter grade of  “C”) on a mastery assessment after the second submission, the teacher and student will work together to find an alternate assessment or intervention/remediation strategy.
• If a student does not submit a mastery assessment by the due date, they may redo or retake the mastery assessment once within the redo/retake submission timeline.  Each department will determine and communicate the criteria through the course syllabi.  
• The highest grade between the original assessment score and the redo/retake score is the grade that will be recorded. Refer to department criteria for redo/retake scoring.
• Any exceptions to the redo/retake window or number of attempts (i.e. through an IEP, 504, or other extenuating circumstance) does not need to be explicitly stated in the school-wide grading policies.
• Mastery assessments are not available for redo/retake after the final deadline set for all assignments to be turned in within a semester.  Mastery assessments are not available to be redone or retaken after the end of the semester.
• The final mastery assessment(s) in a semester are not available for redo/retake.  This includes, but is not limited to: the final exam, final project, final essay, and/or final performance task.

Mastery Based Learning: Rumor vs. Truth

RUMOR

TRUTH

An “A” at Mountain House HIgh School is 90-100% and somehow less rigorous than other schools. Students at MHHS have more “A”s than at other schools.

An “A” at Mountain House is 90-100% and is most likely more rigorous than an “A” at another school since a solid 90% of their earned grade is based on student performance on rigorous assessments.  MHHS grade distribution is proportionate to all other school sites.  

Allowing students to redo- or retake tests after completing error analysis will not prepare them for the real-world.  

The truth is that requiring that students complete error analysis and receive help on what they do not understand and then reassessing them is common practice in the real-world.  This concept of taking and retaking major tests is true for most tests in professional life. Some examples would be the LSATs for Lawyers, the CSETS for teacher certification, and our driver’s license exam among others.

Students who are ineligible and who have Ds at another school can transfer to Mountain House and be eligible.

When a student transfers to another school, the letter grade transfers. Not the grade percentage.

Mountain House is the only school that uses a grading scale that is non-traditional.

Grading scales vary widely at other school sites from teacher to teacher and from dept to dept.  Mountain House High School’s grading scale is transparent and accessible.

Deadlines and due dates do not matter.

Deadlines and due dates matter a great deal. When students do not turn in work on time they are missing out on important opportunities for learning and feedback. Students do not have points deducted from assignments for turning them in late but they face consequences such as having their time impacted.

Daily assignments are only worth 10% of the grade so students should not do them and instead focus on the other assessments that are worth 90% of the grade.

Mastery assessment preparation assignments serve the purpose of guiding students through the learning process and giving teachers insight into their thinking and reasoning. Each assignment should be helping get students to a place where they can demonstrate mastery on an assessment. Failing to complete these assignments makes it hard for teachers to do their job of diagnosing learning difficulties and it sets students up to struggle on assessments.

Supporting Students

The Essential Question: What supports are available for students?

Mountain House High School offers several layers of support to ensure that students get the help they need in working towards mastery in their courses.

Teacher Office Hours

Most teachers maintain office hours before or after school during which time students may drop by. Teachers are in this profession for a reason and love to help students who take the initiative and come with questions and ask for help. Scheduling an appointment with a teacher is another great way to get help.

Peer Tutoring

There are many talented students on campus who volunteer to share their expertise with their peers. Peer tutors are available after school on most days and in some of the flex periods.

SUCCESS!

SUCCESS! is used as both intervention and enrichment for all students.  This period occurs once daily and students will have the opportunity to either choose extension opportunities if they are current with all of their work, or be assigned to intervention if needed.  

SUCCESS! is also a mandatory intervention or enrichment period that is assigned to all students.   All students will be required to either select their chosen SUCCESS! activity or be assigned to an intervention as needed.  

Activating Student Supports

There are several steps that are taken when students are identified as falling behind in either pace or mastery of a course. The steps are not punitive but are instead intended to activate the proper supports to prevent students from falling through the cracks.

Effective Possible Practices for Deadlines and Late Work

• Use SUCCESS! for reteaching and remediation
• Build opportunities into SUCCESS! that students will benefit from or miss out from if they are not there

Practices that Inhibit Learning

• Using SUCCESS! as a punitive consequence