Robert Jackson Mastery is the goal of all teaching. Even in first grade not every student masters the material for the grade. Although nowadays few students are held back in first grade, nevertheless not all students master the material for the grade. As students grow older, the gap in knowledge and abilities among them widens, and getting all students to learn the basic materials for the grade or course becomes even more difficult than it was in the early grades. This is a mistake that some teachers make.
Slower learners respond to conscientious instruction .
A faster student is assigned to help a slower student. The teacher finds special instructional materials for slower students to work on independently either during school time or at home. The teacher enlists the parents to teach the child at home using instructional materials supplied by the teacher. When mastery is sought, as it should be, the importance of testing is readily apparent. With test results in hand, both teacher and student can see how well the student has learned, and plans for next steps can be made.