Elizabethton board renews Mastery Connect assessment subscription

At its August meeting the Elizabethton Board of Education voted to renew its Mastery Connect assessment subscription following a presentation from district staff.

Dr. Newman said Mastery Connect is "an assessment tool for learning, not of learning, but for learning," describing the platform as a predictive, benchmarked assessment aligned to the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP). She said the district has used the platform for four years and uses the data to identify standards that need reteaching and to monitor student progress across the year.

Director Van Huss told the board the platform also helps districts compare results and collaborate: "If someone's doing better in an area than we are, it gives us an opportunity to touch base with them and find out what they're doing." Van Huss and Dr. Newman said the Mastery Connect benchmarks are aligned to state pacing and that the district uses the tool from third grade through the high-school end-of-course exams.

Board members asked about grade coverage and whether each standard is tested on every benchmark; Dr. Newman said benchmarks are aligned to the state's test blueprints and that the first two benchmarks follow pacing (the third is cumulative). She said the district's longitudinal data since 2021 show the tool's predictions are generally within two to three percentage points of TCAP outcomes.

The board moved to approve the renewal; the motion carried with members present verbally indicating "aye" and no opposition recorded.

The district said it will continue to use Mastery Connect data for pacing, reteaching decisions and regional collaboration through the local CER consortium.