Let Go of the Reins to Allow for Student Self-Advocacy

Let Go of the Reins to Allow for Student Self-Advocacy Written By Starr Sackstein Control, the false sense of knowing the outcome as the plan is put into action. Tightly holding the reins, manipulating the space to achieve a perceived understanding of success, all to maintain the illusion. Does this sound familiar? This is how […]

Deepen Reflection, Deepen Learning

Teachers can learn a lot from asking students to reflect and self-assess against the standards and we do the students and ourselves a disservice by not making it an expectation. Perhaps writing a reflection like this isn’t appropriate for every class, maybe a video or voice recording would be better.

Office Hours: 30 minutes with Constance Borro

“Having specific, real-time data doesn’t seem possible in the status quo, but it is possible, and that data is transformative. “ Constance Borro, CEO of Mastery Portfolio Constance Borro, CEO of Mastery Portfolio, sat down with R.E.A.L Discussion to talk about Mastery Portoflio’s beginning, its strengths, and our ultimate goal of revolutionizing grading and assessment practices […]

Video: 6 Tips For Going Gradeless

Change the conversation about grading to one about learning. When a student asks, “what did I get?” redirect him/her to “what did you learn?” The language we use around learning matters, so we must be intentional when students want to talk about progress. Try to avoid speaking in terms of numbers and letters and focus […]

Could You Teach Without Grades?

Starr Sackstein, COO of Mastery Portfolio, and Jennifer Gonzalez from Cult of Pedagogy talk about redesigning grading and assessment in the classroom. Are you receiving pushback from educators or families regarding your use of standards-based grading? Are you focused on improving student self-assessment in your classroom? Starr Sackstein shared her experiences during her conversations on […]

Mastery Portfolio Takes the Guesswork Out of Standards-based Grading

At Mastery Portfolio, we partner with schools that are ready for an assessment paradigm shift. Our focus is grading and assessment practices that motivate students to be active participants in their journey toward learning growth and mastery. Below is an exerpt from Rev 1’s article, Mastery Portfolio Takes the Guesswork Out of Standards-Based Grading written […]

Reversing Grading Meltdowns: a MasteryBook User’s Story

Enthusiastically Written and Shared By Jessica Claasse, educator at BEIS Mastery portfolio was introduced to me on the verge of a grading meltdown. I am not sure if that is even a thing. But let’s call it what it is- Grading sucks. If I have to turn the seconds of sleep that I have lost […]