Group-based mastery learning improves retention of learned material, with an average effect size of .62 across four studies¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 1985 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Evidence quality · No study behind this claim is a peer-reviewed article with a DOI: it rests on an ERIC document (a report, conference paper or thesis). It is kept because a design page cites it; treat it as a lead to check, not an established finding.

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 Four retention studies found positive effects, averaging .62, though most measured retention only over short periods. → Guskey 1985

Evidence¶

Guskey 1985¶

Guskey, Thomas R.; Gates, Sally L. (1985). A Synthesis of Research on Group-Based Mastery Learning Programs. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED262088

q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2

Synthesis of four retention studies (Block, 1972; Omelich & Covington, 1981; Wentling, 1973; Anderson, Scott, & Hutlock, 1976) retesting students two to four weeks after instruction, or four months in one case; the printed effect size of .62 is the average effect size for retention across studies, a printed effect size with its value.

"The average effect size for retention across studies was .62. A limitation of these studies, however, is that all but one measured retention over relatively short time periods."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Mastery learning gains persist at follow-up examinations about eight weeks after instruction — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Group-based mastery learning programs yield positive achievement effects in every included study, but effect sizes vary so widely that an average was deemed inappropriate — related
• In one synthesis of group-based mastery learning, five observational studies found more time-on-task in mastery classes and one community-college evaluation found lower attrition in seven of eight disciplines — related
• Mastery learning effects are larger with a higher mastery standard, group-based pacing, local tests, and less feedback for the comparison group — related