When students are taught to mastery, they become smarter, acquire information faster, and develop efficient strategies for learning. Teachers must have an understanding of what mastery is and how to achieve it in their students. However, teachers cannot teach to mastery without referencing the performance of their students. In addition, teachers cannot teach to mastery without a program design that supports the approach. Teaching to mastery is built upon effective student/program alignment. This paper discusses the features of a program design that supports mastery, properties of mastery, criteria and procedures for measuring mastery, procedures for aligning program placement with student performance and for teaching to mastery, and the benefits of immersing students in mastery.