Defining Mastery

According to educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom, Mastery Learning means students must reach an identified level of mastery in prerequisite knowledge before moving on to new information. If a student does not achieve mastery, additional support is provided to assist them in learning and reviewing the information. Students are then given another opportunity to reach mastery level. This continues until the learner accomplishes mastery, and moves on to the next lesson, skill, or standard.

Teachers typically use Bloom's Taxonomy as a guide for activities. Assessing for mastery means looking for students to display a level of competence in the targeted skill before they move on.