Sheri Hill is a math and computer studies teacher at Craig Kielburger Secondary School. She has been dabbling with her reassessment practices for a number of years, and went all-in with mastery-based grading in September 2021. Here is what she had to share after her first full semester with mastery in de-streamed grade 9 math.
I had been experimenting with mastery-based grading for the past few years, mostly focusing on my reassessment practices in my classroom. When the pandemic started back in March 2020, I felt, in a way, liberated as it gave me the permission to try new things in my classroom. I wanted to really focus on the learning in my classroom, not the grades, and a mastery-based approach made the most sense to accomplish this goal! I was also inspired by the Modern Classrooms Project, and have used pieces of their instructional framework to implement mastery checks and reassessment practices in my de-streamed grade 9 math classroom this year.
A Snapshot of a Mastery-Based Classroom
Mastery-based learning can really only be described as “good chaos”. Each day in my classroom looks different, and students are all engaged in different activities depending on where they are in their learning. At the beginning of class, we all engage in a “Fast Four” activity. This is where I will put up 4 review questions related to prior or new learning. This could be questions from a prior lesson, a prior week, or even a prior unit. While students are working on these questions, I can roam around the room, connecting with my students, or also allow other students to complete re-tests.
I’ve also been using leveled tests as a strategy in my classroom. For a leveled test, each question is based on one specific curriculum expectation, and I provide 4 different levels of questions for that expectation. Students then have a choice as to what level they attempt. We use the 4-point scale, based on the Ontario definition, since this fits well with what is already in Markbook. It makes it easy to track and record for each of our standards.
Overall, class can be a bit chaotic, insane, and exhausting but it is all totally worth it. There really is no need to keep students all “ducks in a row”; instead, it’s more like “pigs in a pen”… crazy and chaotic is ok and welcomed!
Benefits of Mastery-Based Learning
I have seen so many fantastic changes in my students by simply offering students multiple opportunities to reassess. They are more motivated and are working harder. I’ve also seen great shifts in terms of their outlook on learning and testing. In the past, a test was just a test and there were no rewrites so students saw this as an end to the learning process. Now, students are continuing their learning after a test, and trying again when they are ready. The learning process has continued!
I’ve also realized that marks don’t matter and that students are ok with receiving only levels as their grades. It’s actually easier for students to decipher than a percentage grade and I feel like they have a better handle on what they need to do to improve their learning using “grades” in this way.
I also love that this approach has taken away the blame that students often use. “I’ve had a rough day” is no longer something that my students use to blame a poor performance on an assessment. Instead, they know that they have another opportunity to demonstrate their learning, so it has brought student stress levels way down in my classroom.
Challenges With Mastery-Based Learning
I have to admit that teaching using a mastery-based approach is a lot of work so time management can be pretty challenging. It helps that I’ve had only two different preps in a semester. I’m also still struggling with students who are after the mark and not the learning. To help with this, I have my students prepare a Jamboard with what they’ve studied or reviewed before any rewrite is granted. I really like this strategy – students will show me what questions they got wrong, why they got it wrong and what they have learned since then. I’m finding that this is really helping with that mark driven mentality.
It was also, at first, really hard to give up control of the classroom. With students working on different tasks at different times, it can be a challenge to get them all back on track and together at times.
What I Have Learned Through This Journey
Throughout this journey, I’ve learned that my students really just want to do well. And by allowing students to go back and re-test or re-assess, they no longer see themselves as failures. That is huge! My whole outlook on assessment has changed – my role as a teacher is to support students not judge them. More importantly, tests are really just a tool to see where you are at in your learning and are not meant to judge you. Why do we need to compete with one another when the goal really should be about supporting the learning and the community.
I am pleasantly surprised that the learning has increased in my classroom. I have so many more students now that will go back and re-learn a skill or concept if they didn’t master it the first time around. After a test, it is more likely that I’ll overhear a student say “I didn’t get question 1, so I’m going to go home and figure out what the answer is and where I went wrong”. Before this shift, most students would just give up and accept defeat whereas now my students are engaged and motivated to continue their learning after a test.
Overall, my students feel empowered, less stressed, and more motivated to deepen their learning outside of the content. I can meet my students where they are at and be able to challenge them with what they need at any given moment. For example, I noticed one day that one of my students was on his phone, so I challenged him with the 100 locker challenge problem, and he got straight to work on it. Later on that day, he sent me his solution on Google chat. What was incredible was that he had taken the problem to a new level by coding it in Scratch as a response. And it was awesome! It truly is amazing what students can create when you give them the opportunity to do so.
My Best Tips to Get Started
Teaching with this approach is actually less work than you might think it is. It’s really about looking at the resources and materials that you already have, and tweaking them to fit your needs. You most certainly do not need to rewrite everything or recreate your questions. Just go with the flow and use what you already have. Also, fewer students re-write than you might think.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you should do what is going to work for you! AND… you can change your mind at any time, by soliciting feedback and ideas from your students. Also, student voice is so important in setting up your mastery-based classroom; get them involved in setting up the routines and procedures for reassessment.
And remember… don’t judge yourself if it doesn’t work. There are bound to be some failures along the way so learn from your mistakes, and tweak your model as needed. Flexibility is key!