Mastery Learning - Experimental Flaw

"...as a question of experimental design, the extra time often given to mastery learning classes is a serious problem. It is virtually unheard of in educational research outside of mastery learning to systematically provide an experimental group with more instructional time than a control group: presumably, any sensible instructional program would provide significantly greater achievement than a control method which involved 20-33% less instructional time."

Source: "Mastery Learning Reconsidered", Robert E. Slavin, Center for Research on Elementary and Middle Schools, Johns Hopkins University, 1987, p. 9.


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