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Version 1.1 – Updated August 2021

Mastery learning

Overview

  • Influence: Mastery learning
  • Domain: Teaching Strategies
  • Sub-Domain: Success criteria
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Potential to considerably accelerate
  • Influence Definition: Based on the premise that all students can eventually (at their own speed) learn difficult material, this practice calls for all students to learn material at equivalently high (or mastery) levels. It often involves providing formative tests and asking students to repeat lessons until they have mastered them.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 15
  • Number of studies: 784
  • Number of students: 11,383
  • Number of effects: 637
  • Effect size: 0.61

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author First Author's Country Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Review of Research in Education Block & Burns USA Mastery Learning 1976 Mastery learning 45 0 45 0.83
Journal of Research in Science Teaching Willett, Yamashita & Anderson USA A meta-analysis of instructional systems applied in science teaching 1983 Mastery teaching in science 130 0 13 0.64
Educational Leadership Guskey & Gates USA A synthesis of research on group-based mastery learning programs 1985 Group based mastery learning 38 7,794 35 0.78
Unpublished Thesis Hefner USA The effects of a mastery learning/competency-based education instructional approach on facilitating students' retention of achievement in language arts and mathematics 1985 Mastery learning/Competency based methods 8 1,529 12 0.66
Journal of Educational Technology Systems Kulik & Kulik USA Mastery testing and student learning: a meta-analysis 1986 Mastery testing 49 0 49 0.54
Review of Educational Research Slavin Mastery learning reconsidered 1987 Mastery learning 7 0 7 0.04
JAMA Cook, Brydges, Zendejas, Hamstra, & Hatala USA Technology-enhanced simulation for health professions education: a systematic review and meta-analysis 2013 Mastery learning using technology enhanced simulations 59 2,060 59 1.17
Journal of Educational Research Guskey USA A Synthesis of Research on Group-Based Mastery Learning Programs. 1988 Mastery learning 43 0 78 0.61
Journal of Educational Research Guskey & Pigott USA Research on group-based mastery learning programs: A meta-analysis 1988 Group based mastery learning 43 0 78 0.61
Unpublished Thesis Hood USA Using meta-analysis for input evaluation 1990 Mastery learning 23 0 23 0.56
Review of Educational Research Kulik, Kulik, & Bangert-Drowns USA Effectiveness of mastery learning programs: a meta-analysis 1990 Mastery learning 34 0 34 0.52
Teaching of Psychology Kulik, Kulik, & Cohen USA Instructional technology and college teaching. 1979 PSI and achievement 61 0 75 0.49
Journal of Research in Science Teaching Willett, Yamashita & Anderson USA A meta-analysis of instructional systems applied in science teaching 1983 PSI in science 130 0 15 0.60
Computers in Human Behavior Kulik, Kulik, & Bangert-Drowns Effectiveness of computer-based education in elementary schools. 1988 PSI in college students 72 0 72 0.49
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education. Ede & Igbokwe Nigeria Meta-analysis of the effects of mastery learning on students’ academic achievements in Nigeria 2018 Mastery testing 42 0 42 0.54
TOTAL/AVERAGE 784 11,383 637 0.61

Confidence

The Confidence is the average of these four measures, each divided into five approximately equal groups and assigned a value from 1 to 5 based on the following criteria:

  • Number of Meta-analyses
    • 1 = 1
    • 2 = 2–3
    • 3 = 4–6
    • 4 = 7–9
    • 5 = 10+
  • Number of Studies
    • 1 = 1–10
    • 2 = 11–50
    • 3 = 51–200
    • 4 = 201–400
    • 5 = 400+
  • Number of Students
    • 1 = 1–2,500
    • 2 = 2,501–10,000
    • 3 = 10,000–20,000
    • 4 = 20,000–100,000
    • 5 = 100,001+
  • Number of Effects
    • 1 = 1–100
    • 2 = 101–300
    • 3 = 301–600
    • 4 = 601–1,200
    • 5 = 1,200+
Confidences
Number of Meta-Analyses Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Overall Confidence
Confidence Factor 5 5 3 4 4
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