Independent Living Program - Florida's Center for Child Welfare

Establishing Mastery StandardsMastery Standards provide achievement standards for the Learning Goals in the Guidebook. While the highest Guidebook learninglevel usually ends with “can or is able to,” application statements, or “Mastery Standards” reflect that one “does” or “performsconsistently.” Examples are listed later in this section.There are several advantages of Mastery Standards.• Without in-depth application, we are prone to forget what we learned. We learn well only with consistent successful practice.• If young people are to learn the skills of accurate self-assessment, they need the skills of both designing self-evaluationstandards and evaluating themselves according to those standards.• Portfolio development is a powerful strategy for Independent Living Programs. Mastery Standards ensure that the skills peopleclaim on their portfolios reflect evidence that any employer or other person who reviews the portfolio can accept as evidenceof competence.• While adults who work with youth are often satisfied once a learner met the adults’ evidence of competence, the mostimportant people who need to be satisfied are the learners themselves. Application and self-assessment via the MasteryStandards build the self-perception of capability and confidence to learn more competencies.• Mastery Standards are how we know that we know!With application, it is best if the following suggested Mastery Standards are combined with standards that learners help develop. Inthis way, they learn not only to self-assess, but to develop the standards by which they self-assess. Youth often break down thesestandards into “What I will know” and “What others will see.” We include example “Mastery Standards,” for each skill area, but knowthat developing these standards is often best done by the learner.Life Skills Guidebook 158©2004 by Casey Family Programs.