Supporting Updated Standards Alignments in Mastery Connect

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The Mastery Item Bank allows teachers to create assessments with rigorous, standards-based items and get immediate feedback so they can adjust instruction in the moment, when it has the greatest impact on learning. Keeping up with the changes and revisions to state standards across all states is essential to supporting educators and student learning. The Mastery Team uses three milestones to track and update standards, so that educators have access to the most up-to-date content in Connect and the Item Bank to inform instruction. 

Adoption

Instructure tracks the adoption of new standard sets for all 50 states. When new standards are  adopted, our team evaluates our content and identifies the timeline for updates. While new standard sets can be implemented in the classroom during the adoption year, this is not always the case.

Implementation

Most states include an implementation year that begins at the start of the school year following the approval and adoption of standards. During this period, the new standards are used for instruction in the classroom, but not assessed on summative assessments.

Instructure loads the new standards in Mastery Connect prior to the implementation year so educators can include them in their Curriculum Maps and Trackers, measuring student progress against the new standards.

Assessment 

States typically assess the new standards on summative assessments following the implementation year. Standard alignments in the Mastery Item Banks are updated prior to the start of the school year, when the new standards are assessed on the state test. With updated item alignments on-hand, educators have a wide range of content within the Mastery Item Banks to build formative assessments to gauge student learning and identify what students know and where they need additional instruction, standard by standard.

Standards sets are typically retired in Mastery Connect three-years after a state has adopted new standards. If you have trouble locating standards or have questions about standards alignments, please contact your Customer Success Manager.