Chapter 2

This chapter focuses on mastery and how to assess whether students have attained mastery of a subject. It begins by defining mastery as the ability to analyze, evaluate, and create the subject. This includes being able to understand the concepts and apply them to new situations effectively. the chapter talks about assessing students over time or in an in-depth comprehensive test rather than in one simple quiz. Mastery cannot be judged in one day or with mere one word answer questions. This chapter also emphasizes that mastery is not the mere memorization of the material as is usually tested.
It is good how this chapter emphasizes the differences between simply knowing the material and having mastery of material. It is important that students know how to apply what is being taught in situations that they have not encountered before. Being able to do this effectively is the reason behind teaching the material. It is also important that the teachers observe this mastery happening in their own classroom. If they do not see this happening, then they should realize that they need to adjust their teaching methods and how they reach the students. It is also very important that teachers use many forms of assessment to conclude that a students has mastered the material. There are many ways to trick a teacher into thinking that the student has mastered the material. If a test is the only way that the teacher assesses the subject then a student can merely memorize and write in a way that fools the teacher into believing mastery has been achieved. This is why many forms of assessment must be used and incorporated into the cirriculum.