Overview

Over the past decade, the movement to adopt mastery-based approaches to teaching, learning, and graduating has gained momentum throughout the United States, as more educators, parents, business leaders, and elected officials recognize that high academic expectations and strong educational preparation are essential to success in today’s world. Schools use mastery-based learning to raise academic standards, ensure that more students meet those higher expectations, and graduate more students better prepared for adult life.

To help schools establish a philosophical and pedagogical foundation for their work, the Great Schools Partnership created the following “Ten Principles of Mastery-Based Learning,” which describe the common features found in the most effective mastery-based systems:

1. All learning expectations are clearly and consistently communicated to students and families, including longterm expectations (such as graduation requirements and graduation competencies), short-term expectations (such as the specific learning objectives for a course or other learning experience), and general expectations (such as the performance levels used in the school’s grading and reporting system). 
2. Student achievement is evaluated against common learning standards and performance expectations that are consistently applied to all students regardless of whether they are enrolled in traditional courses or pursuing alternative learning pathways. 
3. All forms of assessment are competency-based and criterion-referenced, and success is defined by the achievement of expected competencies, not relative measures of performance or student-to-student comparisons. 
4. Formative assessments measure learning progress during the instructional process, and formative-assessment results are used to inform instructional adjustments, teaching practices, and academic support. 
5. Summative assessments evaluate learning achievement, and summative-assessment results record a student’s level of mastery at a specific point in time. 
6. Academic progress and achievement are monitored and reported separately from work habits, character traits, and behaviors such as attendance and class participation, which are also monitored and reported. 
7. Academic grades communicate learning progress and achievement to students and families, and grades are used to facilitate and improve the learning process. 
8. Students are given multiple opportunities to improve their work when they fail to meet expected standards. 
9. Students can demonstrate learning progress and achievement in multiple ways through differentiated assessments, personalized-learning options, or alternative learning pathways. 
10. Students are given opportunities to make important decisions about their learning, which includes contributing to the design of learning experiences and learning pathways.