{"id":7876,"date":"2018-08-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/welcome-to-mastery-assessment-week\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T13:06:16","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T18:06:16","slug":"welcome-to-mastery-assessment-week","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/welcome-to-mastery-assessment-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Mastery Assessment Week!"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared on Springpoint’s blog The Launch Pad as part of Mastery Assessment Week. See the original here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mastery-based learning\u2014also known a competency-based education (CBE)\u2014has the potential to transform how students understand content and acquire skills. In a mastery-based system, assessing student performance goes well beyond testing knowledge. Assessment acts as a valuable learning experience in itself that also provides tangible evidence about what students can do with the skills they have built through the process of acquiring knowledge. Conversely, in a conventional educational model, assessment most often focuses on solely testing knowledge\u2014with rewards for students who perform well on tests, and repercussions for students who do not demonstrate the same comfort with traditional assessment practices.<\/p>\n

For students, mastery-based assessments can show them where they are, allow them to see where they are going, and help them build on and apply new skills to help them get there. For learning facilitators, mastery-based assessments can unearth student needs and assets and inform the design of instruction and learning to focus on building students\u2019 skills. For school leaders, mastery-based assessments can surface key data points that allow them to support teachers in developing rich learning experiences and iterate on their school models. For families, mastery-based assessments can serve as a foundation upon which to engage in transparent conversations about student growth and progress.<\/p>\n

Emily Rinkema from Champlain Valley Union High School uses a GPS analogy when talking about mastery assessment: students are on a path toward a concrete goal or destination\u2014a learning target; they always know the location of their \u201cblue dot\u201d and the optional routes that can get them to hit their next target. That is what good assessment shows students and adults. Emily and her co-author Stan Williams also note in their upcoming book, The Standards-Based Classroom: Make Learning the Goal<\/a>, that mastery assessment shifts the paradigm from one of \u201ccompensation\u201d (i.e., a student gives a teacher a piece of work and receive a grade in return) to \u201ccommunication\u201d (i.e., students and teachers have an ongoing conversation about where the student is and where she is going).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mastery assessment includes many moving parts\u2014individual assessments, systems of assessment, grading and reporting\u2014that rely on the development of thoughtful and robust artifacts and materials. For example, rubrics\u2014like this Exhibitions of Learning rubric<\/a> from Making Community Connections Charter in Manchester, NH\u2014are the root of transparency in mastery assessment systems as they outline clear expectations for students and let educators develop a common understanding of rigor and standards. Other artifacts, like this grading policy<\/a> from our partners at Urban Assembly Maker Academy and this grading guide<\/a> from Casco Bay High School, give all stakeholders clarity on assessment elements like grading scales, assessed skills, and revision processes. (For more examples and resources, we recommend this performance assessment resource bank<\/a> and our paper Inside Mastery-based High Schools: Profiles and Conversations<\/em><\/a>, which provides a rich set of resources along with case studies.<\/p>\n

At its core, assessment in a mastery system is a way for students and learning facilitators to have an ongoing conversation about progress, skills, and growth. Whereas letter grades are often fixed and transactional, mastery progression imparts self-actualization, teaches self-advocacy, and establishes a partnership between students and learning facilitators. For these reasons and more, good assessment is essential but it is also complex. That\u2019s why Springpoint has joined forces with national partners and schools to present Mastery Assessment Week\u2014five days devoted to all things mastery assessment that starts today.<\/p>\n

Springpoint has partnered with Center for Collaborative Education<\/a>, reDesign<\/a>, NGLC<\/a>, KnowledgeWorks<\/a>, 2 Revolutions<\/a>, Assessment for Learning Project<\/a>, Getting Smart<\/a>, Mastery Collaborative<\/a>, and others to share expertise around some of the most common topics around mastery assessment. Throughout this week, organizations and practitioners will share their experiences with mastery and their role in ensuring that assessment practices and structures support and accelerate student learning. We hope this compilation of best practices, tools, tips, ideas, and open questions can spark an insightful conversation and prove useful for educators and school leaders as they iterate on their mastery assessment frameworks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We believe in the power of sharing strong resources and best practices in order to build out the collective knowledge of the education field. We have seen time and again how learning from great practice can help educators build strong school models that meet the needs of their students. That\u2019s why a major component of the Mastery Assessment Week is devoted to finding and sharing some of the best resources out there.<\/p>\n

During this week, we hope to highlight and share as many resources as possible in the hope that practitioners can find useful and applicable materials that will help aid their conversations around mastery-based learning. Here are some school spotlights to kick off the conversation:<\/p>\n