Mr. Janzen's English Class

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THE WRITING PORTFOLIO PROJECT:

The writing portfolio assignment is a method for teaching writing and related skills in context.  More 
specifically, it’s a nine-month project that allows students to improve individual areas of need, 
understand that writing is about process instead of mere product, and learn editing and revising 
skills in a meaningful way.  It permits them (as well as their instructor) to view progress over time, 
and it gives teachers the opportunity to base writing assessment on improvement—a strategy that 
encourages growth and allows for more accurate grading.

In a nutshell, the assignment calls for students to take part in the following:

1.  Create a variety of rough drafts for narrative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive pieces.

2.  Learn about numerous writing skills that can improve these pieces and put these skills to use.

3.  Meet with teachers, parents, and other students to seek advice, discover areas of need, and edit 
their work.

4.  Learn how to become critical editors of their own work.

5.  Revisit and revise past writing by adding to it, subtracting from it, and making meaningful 
changes.
  
6.  Maintain a physical collection of their efforts throughout the school year that they (and their 
teacher) can review in May to see how they’ve improved.

What are the advantages of taking part in this assignment?  Below are just a few of the research-
based benefits that portfolio writing can achieve.

•	It permits teachers to individualize writing instruction in a manageable, effective manner.

•	It allows students (and teacher) to see how writing has improved throughout the school year.

•	It allows teachers to assess writing in context rather than through a random test or paper.

•	It teaches students that the writing process is just as important as the final product.

•	It encourages students to see themselves as true authors.

•	It forces students become decision makers for their own writing.

•	It makes students apply what they’re learning in class to a real-life experience.

•	It helps students become more effective communicators.

•	It encourages students take responsibility for their learning.

•	It teaches organization, dealing with long-term assignments, and using time efficiently.

•	This project is difficult.  Because of this, students truly (and rightfully) feel that they have
accomplished something when they’ve completed it.

•	This project can be kept for life.  Students can always look back and see what they wrote, and 
they can always remind themselves how much they’ve learned over the years.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE MASTERY PROGRAM:

What is the mastery program?  
•	The mastery program is a grading / teaching philosophy I use to run my 6th grade English and 
Humanities classrooms.  Students do their best to demonstrate mastery of all skills learned in class 
through Wednesday mastery assessments and other in-class activities.  (Please note that 
"assessments" does not necessarily mean "tests" in the traditional sense.)

What is the purpose of the mastery program?  What are its benefits?  
•	In a nutshell, the mastery program has two purposes: the first is to help students identify which 
skills they have mastered and which skills they need to continue cultivating.  The second is to hold 
them accountable for areas in which they’ve already demonstrated proficiency.  In other words, 
students can’t simply memorize facts for a test and then forget the information two weeks later.  
Since students know they will be tested on all material again, they’re encouraged to learn skills 
permanently.

Isn’t it stressful to take a test every week?  
•	Mastery assessments can be stressful, no doubt.  On the other hand, since mastery assessment 
scores get erased and replaced every week, most students find them to be much less stressful than a 
typical exam because they know their grades are temporary.  In addition, mastery assessments do 
not have an overall “final grade” like a typical test.  Instead, students get scored on individual skills, 
which often seems much lest daunting.

Why do student grades get erased and replaced every week?  
•	My philosophy toward grading is that student scores should accurately represent what a child 
understands at a given point in time.  For this reason, I do not include extra credit or homework 
assignments in final grades as doing so demonstrates the work they’ve accomplished—not how 
much they have learned.  In an effort to communicate effectively with parents (and to be as accurate 
as possible about what my students know) I erase previous mastery assessment scores and replace 
them with current ones so that students, parents, and teachers will have an up-to-date 
understanding of a child’s progress with a particular skill.  To illustrate this point, picture the 
following example: On October 1st, Billy scores a 5/10 for literary device identification.  On October 
8th, Billy scores an 8/10 in the same area.  In other words, Billy has shown growth in this area.  In 
such an instance, I would replace the 5/10 with his current 8 to show that Billy now understands the 
material much better.  In other words, his grade reflects what he has learned.  Remember—the idea 
of grades is not to “punish” those who don’t comprehend a new concept right away; it’s merely to 
reflect a student’s understanding of that concept.

If grades are erased and replaced each week, does that mean students scores can go down?
•	Yes.  In the spirit of reflecting a student’s skill base / understanding accurately, grades can dip 
down in addition to up.  I should mention this is a rarity, however.

What are the students trying to accomplish through these tests?  
•	The primary goal for each student is to improve within his or her work areas.  (A work area is a 
particular skill they have not yet mastered.)  Students can demonstrate improvement in one of two 
ways: first, they can simply master the work area by receiving an 8/10 on that particular section of 
the mastery assessment.  Second, they can improve their score by at least 20% from the previous 
week.

What happens when students reach or exceed their goal?  
•	Students who have mastered particular skills are no longer assessed weekly on those skills.  
Instead, they “move forward” to a new area of study—the next, more challenging level of that 
particular skill.  For example, when a student learns how to identify subjects and predicates in a 
sentence, she will then move on to clauses, phrases, run-ons, and fragments.  In essence, this means 
that students will eventually take tests that are individualized to their specific needs.

Does this mean that when a student masters a skill it is not revisited?  
•	Absolutely not.  Even if a child has mastered a particular skill, I frequently include past items on 
the assessments to make sure information is being retained.  In addition, each quarter the students 
take part in an end-of-term “final exam” for which they are tested on everything we’ve studied.  The 
idea behind this is for students to truly learn the material as opposed to memorizing information for 
a test and then forgetting it later.

What happens if the students don’t reach their goal?  
•	When students have difficulty reaching their goal, it often means one of two things has occurred: 
first, students may have misunderstood (or not completely learned) a new topic of study.  Second, 
students may simply need to spend more time practicing the skills in question.  To aid with these 
issues, I generally offer students extra help outside of class and then give them additional practice 
items each night until the next assessment.  Of course, each child is different, so the course of action 
may vary.

How do students keep track of their progress?  
•	Student progress is tracked in a variety of ways.  First, they keep a mastery chart at school that 
lists all their current scores for each mastery skill.  Second, they keep an identical, personal chart in 
their English binder so they’ll have the information at home if needed.  Third, I keep an electronic 
copy of their scores on Power Grade / Power Parent.  (These scores are usually updated every two 
weeks, however, so they may not be as current as the take-home chart.)

Why are parents asked to sign mastery tests and other mastery-related forms?  
•	In general, I ask parents to sign mastery-related items to keep them informed of what’s going 
on in the classroom as well as how their child is progressing.  Because of the unique nature of 
mastery learning, signing tests, for example, provides parents with a current progress report each 
week.

What can students do if they need additional help with their mastery items?  What can students do to 
study for these tests?  
•	Students are always welcome to come in for help before or after school.  (Please check my office 
hours by clicking on the backpack pictured on my home page.)  They can also ask for a practice CD 
that has dozens of worksheets, Power Points, and online games I have put together for each area of 
study.  If these methods are to no avail, students can also use their notes, grammar and literature 
books, or our class website for further assistance.  (Please note that our website has copies of nearly 
all class notes, as well as links to dozens of online practice games and other useful sources.)

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Mr. Janzen's English Class

Portfolio Project & Mastery Learning Explanations