Effects of traditional formative assessment versus mastery learning formative assessment on student achievement

The purpose of the research was to determine the effect on student achievement of the implementation of a Mastery Learning program in a high school chemistry class. Mastery Learning was implemented to give students another tool to master the content before the summative assessment. Mastery quizzes and assignments were given to students in the experimental group versus traditional quizzes for the control group. The researcher analyzed two sources of student data and conducted a student survey to determine the effects. Student result data from surnmative unit tests and results from the California Standardized Test were extracted and an analysis of variance was conducted to determine the effect on the experimental group versus the control group. Results showed a trend in increasing student achievement on both surnmative assessments, but were not statistically significant overall. Student survey results indicated that students felt the Mastery Program was beneficial to help them succeed in chemistry. The Mastery Program can be extended to incorporate technology and assist English learners and students with special needs as a tool to help them master the concepts in a variety of classes. Mastery Learning can be modified to fit any subject and provides extra support for students for whom learning is a function of time and practice. KEYWORDS: formative assessment, mastery learning, relearn, reteach, student achievement, surnmative assessmen