This paper presents a model describing three context variables hypothesized to affect measures of teacher efficacy. These variables include the nature of the student performance outcome (positive or negative), the ability of the students involved (high or low), and the scope of influence (single student or group of students). The results from…

Questions frequently arise about the origins of outcome-based education and mastery learning, their similarities and differences, their theoretical and practical links, and evidence about their effects on student learning. Historical and theoretical perspectives show a clear distinction between outcome-based education and mastery learning.…

A synthesis of findings from 38 studies on group-based applications of mastery learning strategies are presented. Meta-analytic procedures were used to combine the results of the studies and to calculate overall estimates of the effects of group-based applications. Results show that such applications yield consistently positive effects on both…

This paper describes a theoretical model of the multidimensional relationship between professional development activities for educators and improvements in student learning. It also examines the validity and appropriateness of the model through five in-depth case studies of school-based professional development programs. The model presented…

Guidelines for and obstacles to focusing on student learning outcomes as the primary educational goal are presented in this paper. Five obstacles that impede the focus on student outcomes are the beliefs that: learning should be normally distributed; education's purpose is to select talent; the purpose of testing is for evaluation only; curriculum…