Mastery Standards: Standards that are non-negotiable for children to learn in the particular grade level. These are standards that the design team has identified as being essential for children to master before they leave that grade. In MCAS grades, these standards are the most often assessed on MCAS (according to the historical pattern of MCAS). These standards are referred to with an “M” in the documents and are assessed on district benchmark assessments.

Developing Standards: Standards that students are exposed to but not expected to master. The design team has determined this because: (a) more work will done on the standard in subsequent grades/terms, (b) the professional opinion of the teachers on the design team is that the standard is not essential for all children to master, or (c) historically the standard has not been tested often on MCAS. These standards are notated with a “D” in the documents and are not assessed on district benchmark assessments.

Enriching Standards: Standards that students are exposed only at teacher’s discretion, but students are not expected to master. The design team has determined this because: (a) more work will done on the standard in subsequent grades/terms, (b) the professional opinion of the teachers on the design team is that the standard is not essential for all children to master, or
(c) historically the standard has not been tested often (if at all) on MCAS. These standards are notated with an “E” in the documents and are not assessed on district benchmark assessments.