State lawmaker studies mastery-based learning in La Conner

The eyes of Olympia were on La Conner Schools last week focusing on the district's innovative approach to assessing student learning.

And state leaders visiting the local campus liked what they saw.

State Sen. Lisa Wellman, chair of its early learning and K-12 education committee and Alissa Muller, director of the state board of education's mastery-based learning collaborative, met with students and staff here Oct. 4 to view and receive feedback on the La Conner district's mastery-based learning initiative.

Wellman even joined students to help prepare and bake apple galettes in teacher Peter Voorhees' Breads and Pastries class.

That classroom visit was one of several as Wellman and Muller witnessed the district's implementation of mastery-based learning, which evaluates students on how well they can practically apply lessons and demonstrate higher-order critical thinking skills as opposed to using rote memorization in pursuit of standard letter or percentage grades.

The objective is to reduce "busy work" and increase more meaningful and relative assignments, staff said.

School officials are in the process of highlighting for parents key details related to mastery-based learning goals and assessments, said Director of Teaching and Learning Beth Clothier.

"We're working on a one-page document to share with parents why this is an accurate reflection of their child's learning," Clothier said during a brief tour break.

Wellman, in an earlier roundtable discussion with students, noted that some of the nation's top universities, including Yale and Stanford, are now accepting mastery-based learning portfolios from applicants as a substitute for traditional grade transcripts.

Student feedback indicated that mastery-based learning requires greater rigor but has far fewer failing grades than the traditional system which limits passing scores to those above the 60 per cent level.

"Everyone is used to a grading system," Clothier explained, "that has a huge chunk – 0 to 60 per cent – that's failing and only a small percentage that's in the passing range."

Under standard grading, the students said, the priority is often securing top grades rather than mastering and utilizing course material.

"The idea," Clothier said, "is to be a learner rather than an 'A-getter.'"

In Suzanne Keith's sophomore English class, student Maeve McCormick was called upon to analyze for the visitors the key points of a short story – plot, setting, theme and mood, for instance – rather than memorize certain facts from a selected story. She did so by alluding to the impacts of rising action and important themes.

Wellman worked 25 years in the technology field prior to her 2016 election to the senate's 41st District, which includes Mercer Island and other King County suburbs, She was pleased to see the La Conner Schools commitment to career and technology education.

"It's great to see a digital photography classroom in your high school," she told teacher Ryan Hiller.

Clothier said that this school year each middle and high school teacher was asked to make at least one of their classes a mastery-based learning course.

In 2022-23, middle school teacher and soccer coach Maddie Huscher embraced mastery-based learning. Last spring, she was named the Northwest Educational Service District's Regional Teacher of the Year.

The mastery-based learning concept is designed to give students more freedom to learn in the ways in which they are most comfortable, said Clothier.

"It really encourages active engagement," she said.

For generations, noted Clothier, students have been under pressure to achieve the highest possible grade point averages for college admission.

"But this," she said of mastery-based learning, "can better prepare our students for college."

Wellman and Muller finished their visit in Todd Hinderman's science lab, where he was conducting a chemistry lesson on gas laws. Adorning the walls was a collection of illustrated thematic posters created by students that showcased both their artistic talents and ability to demonstrate command of key material from units he has taught.

Wellman, who in the 1980s was a public school teacher before becoming a systems analyst and programmer, showed a genuine interest in how well Hinderman's students navigated his lab assignment.

As she had on her previous classroom stops, Wellman literally developed chemistry with the students – just minus an apple galette.