Mastering Mastery-Based Learning

James Yi, Samuel Parigela

The grading system could be changing drastically, and unless you are leaving this school, you should be interested in what is called mastery-based learning.

Mastery-based learning was first formally proposed in the late 1960s by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues, but early forms of the system can also be traced back a few decades earlier, like the Winnetka Plan in the 1920s. Recently, the book “Grading for Equity” has popularized the idea.

The main philosophy of mastery-based learning is judging students based on mastery, not completion, of content. In doing so, two major tasks are involved: defining what content the students need to master and deciding how to judge their mastery.

The first task is accomplished by discussions among teachers of the same subject. It is a necessary task even outside of mastery-based learning, so there will likely be little change in this task.

The second task will involve some guidance from administration. In OCSA, assessments will, over the course of several years, come to account for 90 percent of the grade of any subject. There is some flexibility in what counts as an assessment, however. “We can make a lab an assessment. We can make a daily assignment an assessment. It will be up to the teachers,” said science teacher Chris Chong. The ability to categorize homework as assessments will serve as a loophole for teachers, such as Chong, who disagree with judging students by their test results. “Students should be rewarded on their investment in the class,” said Chong.

Another proposed change would be for every teacher to have some form of retest or test correction policy, though the exact details of the policy would be up to the teacher. Like increasing the importance of tests, these changes will be finalized over several years. Though the timelines are not set in stone, Assistant Principal of Instruction Kim Lyons mentioned a “three-year vision.”

The shift was largely motivated by taking a broader look at the purpose of education—learning. “We worry that we have created a system in which…the goal is to chase points,” Learning Specialist Shelley Stanphill said. With the rise of AI and the Internet, it is easy to look up the answers to an assignment, so there is a point at which homework does not sufficiently measure learning. Stanphill added that the change has been taking place for a while at OCSA, with some teachers having already been using mastery-based learning for many years. “It’s been… a gradual process where I think more and more teachers are starting to adopt those practices.”

Science teacher Daniel Huynh emphasized that the implementation of a mastery-based system would create a system that is more fair. “The changes will allow for a more equitable learning experience,” he explained. Huynh highlighted that the progression of learning is unique to each student, and that the traditional system doesn’t sufficiently account for this. Ideally, a mastery-based learning system would be more flexible in catering to the needs of every individual, and would prioritize real growth and learning as opposed to how much someone can memorize for the day of a test. “I can’t change what is being taught, but how I give the test might be different—I might give a project, or I might give a portfolio,” said Huynh.

Another purpose of mastery-based learning is consistency. Originally, there were many policy differences among teachers. “One teacher, for example, would give 20 percent of the grade to homework and another teacher only gives 10 percent,” Lyons said. “Or this teacher allows for retakes and that teacher doesn’t.” The standardization of the assessment category and the requiring of retakes or corrections is meant to limit the impact a teacher’s policies have on student grades.

Mastery-based learning is a significant change from the current grading system, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out at OCSA.