"Mastery Learning" in Your Schools

                If education is to prepare students for the 21^st Century – a world that is faster-paced, more global and infinitely more technological – schools must be willing to transform.  Gone are the days of teachers lecturing and students listening.  Gone are the days of solving problems using only one method of mathematical reasoning.  And yes, gone are the lists of spelling words that, when memorized in isolation, do not help students transfer their knowledge as they begin to formulate sentences, paragraphs and finally essays.

                Our world demands more of today’s students and the Sioux Falls Public Schools are changing to meet those expectations.  You’ve seen it happening with our commitment to providing multiple pathways for student success.  You’ve seen it as we’ve taken bold steps forward in student achievement, student engagement and customized learning by putting technology into the hands of each student.  Our goal is that each student masters what he or she is learning so each student is prepared to succeed in this changing world.

                Mastery learning ensures each student is able to master the content before he or she is moved on to a more advanced learning task.  This focus is the force behind the standards-based report cards parents/guardians are seeing for their elementary and middle school students.  Instead of just earning one letter grade for an entire nine-weeks or semester, students are now being assessed on their mastery of each curriculum standard taught during that nine-weeks or semester.  Simply put, if a student masters addition, but is still developing subtraction skills, that detail can now be noted on the report card, instead of only one grade being issued in the subject of math.

                We realize the concept of reporting mastery on the report cards may be new to parents/guardians who are seeing this for the first time.  However, without a doubt, this transformational change is allowing your son or daughter’s teacher to share with you the details of what your son or daughter knows on a deeper level than ever before.  Educators can more quickly identify concepts not yet clear to some students, while moving others who have mastered a concept, on to other challenging ideas.

                 In short, mastery learning ensures a deeper understanding of content by students and a deeper understanding of students by their teachers.  This formula for success is yet another example of how your Sioux Falls Public Schools are preparing students for the demands of the 21^st Century.