Understanding Mastery Cut Scores

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MASTERY CUT SCORES | RECOMMENDED SCORES

 

MASTERY CUT SCORES

Cut scores are used to determine where students are performing per standard. It is up to the creator of the assessment to determine what the cut scores will be for that assessment. 

Below you will find recommendations based on the Mastery Tier levels you are using in your district. 

  • These recommendations are based on decades of educational research.

    • Persistently scoring  80% > Mastery

      • Retain knowledge/skills at higher rate year-to-year

      • Higher transfer of knowledge/skills across disciplines

3 TIER MASTERY CUT SCORES

The recommendation for 3 tier mastery levels follows the "80/50" split rule of Mastery Learning.

Mastery = 80-100%

Near Mastery = 50-79%

Remediation = <49%

4 TIER MASTERY CUT SCORES

The recommendation for 4 tier mastery levels follows the "100/80/50" split rule of Mastery Learning.

Advance/Exceeds Mastery = 100%

Mastery = 80-100%

Near Mastery = 50-79%

Remediation = <49%

PRO TIP: Create a chart to share out with your district or school. This will support everyone using the same cut scores for each standard on an assessment.

3 Tier Mastery Cut Score Sample Template

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4 Tier Mastery Cut Score Sample Template

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MASTERY CUT SCORES | CONSISTENT APPROACH

 

COMPARABLE DATA

  • What happens if teachers have different or inconsistent cut scores?

    • First off data is not comparable from one assessment to another

    • One group of students is being held to a higher standard than the other. 

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In this example, both assessments have 5 questions. All levels in this example are vastly different.

  • Students who scored the same amount would receive different levels depending on the assessment.
  • Scoring a 2 on Assessment 1 would result in Remediation where on Assessment 2 it is considered Mastery. 

PRO TIP: You can easily check the cut scores of an assessment by looking at the assessment on the tracker. If you notice that the cut scores are incorrect you can quickly fix them which will fix the mastery levels on your data and tracker.

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Use the Pencil next to the Mastery Levels to change the cut scores.

 

MASTERY CUT SCORES | APPLYING THEM

 

CREATING AN ASSESSMENT

At the end of creating any assessment on Mastery Connect you will be asked to put in mastery levels. If you are creating a single standard assessment you will only put in one set of cut scores. If you are creating a Multi-Standard assessment you will put in these scores for each standard.

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PRO TIP: In order to see a range in ability it is recommended that you assess at least 3 - 4 questions per standard.

3 Tier Assessments

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 As you can see in the 3 Tier image above when only 1 standard is assessed you only get 2 colors instead of the range of 3 colors

4 Tier Assessments

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 As you can see in the image above when only fewer standards are assessed you loose the range of colors.

 

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

It is strongly recommended that you have a consistent approach to mastery scores at the district and school levels. When a consistent approach to mastery cut scores are in place your data is comparable across disciplines and grade levels.

Our Mastery Services team provides expert professional development, strategic consulting, and alternative options designed to support the vision, goals, and adoption of Mastery products. If you would like to learn more about our services check out our Professional Development Options and contact your CSM for more information!

Don't forget to watch the Blog Video about this post and we would love to hear from you, so please comment below!

 

 

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