The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore the impact of a direct reading instruction program, "Reading Mastery (RM)," on literacy performance of students over a five-year period. Initially, 700 students in grades K-3 were randomly selected from six elementary schools to participate in the study; an additional 100…

Under a mastery learning system students can take successive parallel tests with study interspersed between tests until they demonstrate a minimal level of competency. For most students, such procedures increase final performance, yet some may experience repeated subjective failure. Self-worth theory predicts that repeated failure in the face of…

This paper provides a discussion of some of the dilemmas that face teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL). The author suggests that end-of-course assessments of ESL students should include a measure of growth, gain, or value-added, as well as measures of students' mastery of the English standards or English course criteria. Research has…