Mastery- and Standards-based Assessment and Instruction | Kate Hoff Shutta, Northfield Mount Hermon
Some of the ESA schools are members of the Mastery Transcript Consortium, an organization that is developing a new model of assessment, crediting, and transcript generation. The process is expected to take some time, but that has not stopped some teachers from rethinking assessment and instruction in the framework of mastery-based curriculum. This workshop is a working laboratory designed to enable teachers to understand and begin to implement the mastery-based method of measuring student performance. Drawing from real case studies, the workshop will walk teachers through the transition, step-by-step, in an effort to make all of the assumptions transparent and the goals clear. Those who have already made the shift claim their students demonstrate more intrinsic motivation, display more self-confidence, and have a better idea of where their personal performance is relative to standards set by the teacher or course leader. As a result of greater interest in mastery-based assessment, the Canvas LMS has released a Mastery-based Gradebook. While each academic department will identify its own nuances with respect to mastery-based standards, the process of creating them is similar. The workshop instructor will have already taught a mastery-based course, and therefore will have first-hand experience to share with workshop participants.