How do you describe the Mastery Transcript Consortium to someone who has never heard of it?

MTC provides a way to look at the whole child. The traditional transcript most often includes narrowly defined grades, and it rarely reflects learning outside of class, meaningful student growth, or demonstrations of proficiency in essential skills and application of knowledge. We aim to capture the different facets of a student, moving away from a transcript that flattens young people and towards a representation of their holistic achievement. We are currently working with over 370 schools and counting to broaden the scope of what we exalt as “achievement.”

What makes the Mastery Transcript unique?

As you can see on this page, our transcript shows mastery credits earned and courses that have been completed but no grades. Rather, it demonstrates a student’s proficiency in a clearly defined set of skills. 

There are two types of credits: foundational and advanced. Foundational skills are required to get a diploma. Advanced credits are examples of where the student has decided to explore further or go especially deep. Each school or district determines their own “competencies/skill areas” that are in accordance with the school community’s culture and priorities. Learners upload evidence that, once approved, will be attached to their transcripts, demonstrating their learning. This agency allows students to take ownership of their learning and demonstrate it in unique ways when they apply to college, for jobs, etc.

For instance, there are different ways to prove a student can read a map. MTC member schools  are changing the conversation around what educational experiences can and should be validated and presented on the high school transcript. Also, a student can articulate and demonstrate how they’ve met it–it’s a very empowering experience for a young person.

Why do schools prefer the Mastery Transcript?

Our transcript better reflects a student’s cumulative learning compared to a traditional transcript. It doesn’t force teachers to determine whether they should give a grade based on the student’s individual growth or based on how the student compares to the rest of the class.

Traditional transcript credits reflect a learner’s end-state proficiency whereas our underlying assessment models used to award credit are aligned towards growth. Consider two learners whose proficiency is assessed at regular intervals using a system with 5 levels of proficiency.  Their assessments are as follows:

Learner One:  4 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 4  (strong proficiency, no growth)

Learner Two:  2 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (mastery, high growth)

In a model that uses averaged scores, Learner One’s mean score of 4 suggests their achievement is higher than does Learner’s Two mean score of 3. But in a Mastery Learning model, Learner Two has demonstrated both high growth and the highest level of end-state proficiency (i.e. mastery). Viewed through this lens, Learner Two’s learning may actually be  deeper than that of Learner One.

What do students think about the Mastery Transcript?

We recently spoke with numerous students who are currently enrolled in schools that use the Mastery Transcript. Here are some of their thoughts:

“I used to be more of a traditional ‘AP’ student, and with the MT I am able to be more active in what I do and learn. I have been able to pursue things that I love to do and have that gratification.” – High School Senior

“I have had a really good experience with the MT both personally and with the response of the schools I have sent it to. Even schools that don’t normally take transcripts were happy to receive it. I really love the exploration and compiling of my own evidence. In my experience, I continue to be shocked in a good way with what the MT can contain and do. I have always used portfolio style, end of year compilation of evidence, but the MT has made this much easier to use and has also helped me find things about myself that maybe I didn’t even realize or know.” – High School Senior

Have you had any pushback from colleges about the different format of the transcript?

One of my colleagues, Edgar Montes, partners with admission officers to discuss how to read the Mastery Transcript, why it’s important, and how it shows a more complete picture of the student. Last year more than 100 colleges reviewed Mastery Transcripts, and all were able to use it. We have recently released a brief online module “How to Navigate the Mastery Transcript” for admission officers to help them build competency and confidence in reading the transcript as well.

How long does it take for a school to move to a Mastery Transcript?

The timing varies based on the school’s starting point, capacity, and bandwidth. Our Journeys to Mastery framework supports schools and gives them a base and examples to work with, but the school has to determine the foundational competencies that fit their school culture. We also provide quality control and guidance. Some member schools started using the transcript immediately upon joining while others planned a transition of five or more years.

What are you particularly excited about right now?

Right now we are deeply partnering with Utah at the state level. They have a lot of Native American reservations in the state and want to honor the valuable learning taking place there. For example, traditional transcripts are not designed to convey those community leadership skills that may have been cultivated tribally.  They have our largest density of MTC schools, with thirty-one in counting. Very exciting to say the least.

We are also working with partners to begin development of tools to help schools better capture ongoing student-centered learning even before adopting the Mastery Transcript. This project sets schools up for success with our transcript because those nuanced layers of PBL and interdisciplinary work are recorded with posterity to be translated as “achievement” using our tool. Our vision is that MTC can continue to embolden and facilitate those transitioning to Mastery Transcripts.

Teacher, filmmaker, activist, artist … describing Tamika Guishard isn’t easy, nor should it be. Each of the varied roles and many accomplishments that mark her resume combine to create the unique perspective she brings to advancing the conversation surrounding the future of education. Tamika brings experiences from such renowned organizations as National Park Service, DC Public Schools, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and Tribeca Film Institute.

Read more about her new role at MTC here

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Calculus: the pinnacle of a student’s career in high school mathematics. In first grade, students don’t even know what it is. By the time they get to fifth grade, one kid’s brother is taking it. By sixth they have heard stories about how calculus will make them tear their hair out. Then, in eighth grade, they learn about how their math teachers even struggled learning calculus. Finally, in their junior or senior year, they get to face the daunting class themselves.

My high school currently offers two different calculus classes, AP Calculus AB and BC. Currently, AB covers what is typically taught in the first semester of college calculus, and BC covers the second semester. The two classes have a little bit of content overlap, with AB ending with integration and BC beginning with it.

However, next year, the math department is switching its AP Calculus BC course from a class that covers one semester of college calculus to a class that covers one entire year of college material taught in one year of high school. Along with BC, AB will still be an option for those in Math Analysis right now.

This change is astronomical. Calculus is already a class that people struggle with, whether it be the topics in AB or BC. The classes always feel like they are moving at a high tempo. Yes, these classes are hard, but they are manageable over the course of a year. When those two curriculums are joined together to create next year’s version of BC, the already steady pace will inevitably double. The time allotted for students to struggle through problems and ask questions will be halved.

We as a community do not know if this change to a much more difficult course is going to be feasible for a lot of students. Doubling the workload of a course has never been tried at our school. We do not know how students will perform.

What we do know is that Calculus BC will be a challenge for even the most savvy math students, and people should know what they are getting into if they choose to take it.

However, since the stigma at my school is that we always need to achieve what is at the top, people will inevitably get drawn towards taking BC. This is a problem, because the rigor of BC is not for everyone coming out of math analysis. BC is for the people who love math and who are willing to go the extra mile to explore it, said math teacher Amy Dunn-Ruiz.

“I hope that anybody who signs up for calculus is signing up because they are excited about learning more math, love problem solving, and have a passion for learning the material,” Dunn-Ruiz said. “It is disheartening when people sign up for the class just to get it on their transcript, and you can see how that reflects in their grades.”

There should not be any pressure from anybody besides yourself when it comes to choosing your class. If math is your calling, challenge yourself and take BC. However, if you know that math is not your favorite, do not get sucked into taking it just because it is the hardest class available. If you are not truly interested in the relationships between math concepts, you will get left behind.

This same principle should be applied to the rest of the classes at our school. If you are someone who loves reading and writing, Honors English is the perfect class to push that passion even further. On the other hand, if you are someone who dreads reading your class copy of Things Fall Apart every night, Honors English is probably not the best choice.

What still holds true is the fact that you will do yourself no favors by blindly choosing the hardest course possible. The harder a class gets, the more important it is that you enjoy that challenge. Otherwise, you burn out.

We as a community need to rethink the stigma that the hardest is the best when it comes to choosing classes. What we need to push is the idea that you can do whatever you want to.

So, whether it be in Calculus BC, Honors English, or any other class, I hope that you are inspired by the challenges you face.

Hunter Disco is a Junior at Piedmont High School in Piedmont, CA where he serves a staff writer for the newspaper.

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