This document reviews the Phase Achievement System (PAS), a mastery-oriented instructional method, being utilized to teach biology at Iowa State University. The system is designed to reduce student failures from competitive, nonrepeatable examinations and presents course content material in a modularized form. A comparison with traditional lecture…

Presents a theory of school learning that attempts to explain individual differences in school learning as well as to determine the ways in which such differences may be altered. (MP)

Summarizes research exploring six solutions to the "2 sigma problem" of devising teaching-learning conditions that will enable the majority of students under group instruction to achieve at levels now possible only when students are tutored. Recommendations include using mastery learning, improving the home environment, and emphasizing higher…

This study examined the relationship between two independent variables, mastery and aptitude, on two dependent variables, achievement and retention. Aptitude was measured by administering the word meaning section of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Achievement and retention were measured by a researcher-constructed test. The study involved 17…

The major purpose of this study was to compare self-instructional mastery and nonmastery treatments to determine if there are differences in learning, retention, and time-to-testing of high, middle, and low aptitude students. Twenty grade 7 classes from the Savannah-Chatham County School District served as the experimental population. Students…