When you purchase a homeschooling program, you have a choice to make. Do you place your child according to grade level, or do you place your child according to ability? Your decision will play a significant role in whether your child experiences success or frustration and failure.
Many core subjects, such as reading, spelling, and math, rely on students to build knowledge and understanding in a step-by-step fashion. If a foundational concept is weak, the next one becomes harder. A mastery-based math, reading, or spelling program helps children move forward confidently, one solid skill at a time.
Watch the video below to learn the important difference between grade-level-based programs and mastery-based programs or read on to discover more.
First, let’s take a quick look at the grade-level choice.
Why Isn’t a Grade-Level Program Best for My Child?
Let me explain it this way.
Bea is three years old. She has participated in agility classes, and she loves running through the tunnels and weaving through the bars.
Buffy is also three years old. She has taken basic obedience classes, but she has never seen a tunnel or weaving bars before.
Would you put both dogs in the same agility class?
Of course not. Bea—with her natural aptitude and previous experience—is ready for the more advanced Level 2 class, but Buffy belongs in the Level 1 beginner’s class.
What would happen if you put both dogs in a Level 2 class? Buffy would likely fail because she would never be able to perform at the same level as dogs who have already mastered the Level 1 course.
So what does all that have to do with kids and curriculum? Let’s connect the dots.
Some people might say, “My ten-year-old is in third grade, so I need the third grade spelling book for him.” But we would never say, “Bea and Buffy are both three years old; they should be in the same agility class.” So here’s a question for you: If you wouldn’t expect a dog to skip the Level 1 course and go straight to the Level 2 course, why would you expect a child to?
Maybe it’s time to rethink how we place our children in reading, spelling, and math programs. Two children who are the same age may be at very different points in their educational journey. Expecting them to move at the same pace simply because they’re in the same grade would be just as unfair as asking Buffy to skip Level 1 agility.
After all …
Age Is Just a Number
The story of Bea and Buffy illustrates that age and grade aren’t reliable indicators of which level you should place a dog (or a child) in. Common sense tells us that since not all ten-year-olds have the same educational background, they probably don’t have the same reading, spelling, or spelling ability either.
For example, some ten-year-olds can easily spell words like pigeon and partridge, while others may still be trying to grasp the idea that the letter G can make different sounds in different situations. Some ten-year-olds can spell circles around most adults, while others have their parents shaking their heads in dismay at their spelling struggles.
It really doesn’t matter whether the differences are the result of natural ability or previous teaching. The fact is, your child is very likely functioning at a different reading and spelling level than her friends. And it would be unfair to force your child and her friends all into the same level just because they are the same age.
In math it’s the same story. Two children who are the same age may have very different math experiences—one may already understand multiplication, while another is still solidifying addition and subtraction facts.
Age is never the best indicator of academic ability, so let’s consider these five compelling reasons to opt for a mastery-based program instead.
5 Reasons Mastery-Based Programs Are Better for Dogs (and for Kids!)
Mastery-based programs make learning easier by placing high priority on five important elements. Let’s take a closer look at these five elements and how we apply them in our curriculum.
Your child is placed according to ability so that the program can meet your child right where she is.
As we illustrated earlier, a mastery-based program lets you focus on your child’s ability instead of on her age or grade level. Mastery-based math, spelling, and reading programs begin where your child’s understanding lags—filling in any gaps before introducing new material. That’s why we have your child take a placement test before beginning All About Reading, All About Spelling, or All About Math. This sets your child up for success by allowing instruction to meet her right where she is.
You are free to introduce new material at whatever pace is best for your child.
A mastery-based program teaches at your child’s pace instead of at a rigid pace set by a curriculum. All About Reading, All About Spelling, and All About Math help you pace your lessons so the material is efficiently learned and effectively retained, setting the stage for long-term learning. This gradual, incremental approach respects your child’s developmental level and allows her to slow down or speed up as needed. Anna Gillingham, one of the founders of the Orton-Gillingham approach, put it this way: “Go as fast as you can, but as slow as you must.”
If multiplication facts need more time to sink in, you can pause and review; if fractions come easily, you can move ahead. Similarly, if a child needs more time with certain letter combinations, it’s better to give them the time they need rather than rushing them through. Mastery-based math, reading, and spelling instruction gives you that freedom.
Consistent review makes learning “stick.”
The goal of mastery-based lessons is to make sure that learning “sticks”—that the brain is able to permanently store, manage, and retrieve information for later use. It’s the “sticking” part that matters. Concepts that are forgotten are not mastered. Simply put, long-term learning should be the main goal of your teaching. In All About Reading and All About Spelling, we help you accomplish that goal by building daily practice and cumulative review into every single lesson. That way, you never have to worry about whether you’re doing enough.
Math learning sticks the same way reading rules do—through regular review and application. In All About Math, daily spiral review reinforces previously learned concepts so children never forget key skills.
With mastery-based programs, there are no gaps.
Nothing brings long-term learning to a screeching halt like encountering missing bits of knowledge. It’s essential in mastery-based learning that no knowledge gaps exist. Then as you teach new skills and provide practice and review, you also monitor your child’s progress so you know he’s really learning. This continual process of teaching, monitoring, and offering feedback is necessary to ensure that no gaps surface down the road.
Because reading, spelling, and math are cumulative, even a small misunderstanding can make learning future topics very difficult. A mastery-based approach closes those gaps early, ensuring smooth progress.
Your child moves on to the next level only after the content has been mastered.
This is an area where mastery-based programs really differ from grade-level programs.
Completing a grade is not the same thing as mastering a level. In a grade-level program, when your child completes Grade 6, he moves on to Grade 7 regardless of whether he has mastered the content in Grade 6. Just imagine the miserable cycle of defeat and frustration that this can create for you and your child. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With a mastery-based program, your child moves on to the next level only after he has mastered the content in the previous level.
In reading and spelling, this means students learn how letters combine to make different sounds, helping them spell longer words or sound out new words when reading. In math, this means your child moves forward only when they can confidently demonstrate both the “how” and the “why.” True mastery leads to real understanding instead of simple memorization.
Main Differences between Grade-Level and Mastery-Based Lessons
The video below summarizes the differences between the two approaches.
You May Have to Buck the System
The concept of a mastery-based program may be new to you and to those around you. After all, it is so “normal” to place your child according to age or grade. But there are so many factors other than age—including experience, innate ability, and opportunity—that contribute to where a child is academically.
Just as we wouldn’t expect a ten-year-old to perform at the same music or athletic level as every other ten-year old, we shouldn’t use age as a way to determine placement in a spelling program. This may mean letting your child spend extra time mastering a tricky math concept or advancing ahead of peers in reading or spelling—both perfectly normal in a mastery-based program.
When you teach a child at her instructional level, she can blossom! And you can relish the fact that you are providing long-term learning.
The Bottom Line on Mastery-Based Curriculum
Every child is more than just her “grade” or numerical age. A child’s unique experiences and aptitude play an important role in where she should be placed in terms of ability.
That’s why All About Reading, All About Spelling, and All About Math are mastery-based programs that:
- Place your child according to ability
- Teach your child at his or her pace
- Use consistent review to achieve permanent learning
- Have carefully sequenced lessons with no gaps
- Progress to the next level only after mastery is achieved
If you’re ready to buck the system and experience the amazing progress your child can make when she’s working at the right ability level, be sure to check out our curriculum! And if you ever need a helping hand, we’re here for you.
What has been your experience with mastery-based lessons versus grade-level lessons? Do you have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
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