New Meridian’s MasteryGuide™ Assessment Puts Student Learning Back into the Center of State Assessment and Accountability

AUSTIN, TX (Oct. 11, 2023)—New Meridian, a nonprofit dedicated to creating high-quality assessment solutions for K-12 schools, is proud to announce MasteryGuide™ Assessment, a through-year assessment solution for state education systems that simultaneously provides instructionally useful data to classroom teachers throughout the year and a scaled, summative score for accountability purposes by end of year.  

MasteryGuide uses a set of short mini-assessments or “testlets” that are flexibly aligned to classroom instruction so that teachers can adjust instruction to the learning needs of individual students. Using short, targeted assessments aligned to the curriculum provides a fairer, more accurate measure of learning and helps students improve throughout the year. MasteryGuide then uses sophisticated scoring models to aggregate the testlet scores into a final summative score that meets Federal accountability requirements and eliminates the need for an end-of-year test.  

MasteryGuide addresses a growing demand for more balanced assessment systems that focus on classroom learning while also meeting accountability requirements. By addressing both needs, MasteryGuide reduces overall testing time and keeps the focus on student learning. Because they are short—administered within a class period—and aligned to instruction, testlets reduce the disruption and stress of a final summative test that takes days to administer and shuts down meaningful teaching and learning. MasteryGuide results are available quickly after administration, letting students, families, and teachers know how students are progressing throughout the year so they can course correct.  

“Through-year testing is the future of assessment,” said Arthur VanderVeen, founder and CEO of New Meridian. “While high-quality state tests help ensure schools are serving all students equitably, they also narrow the curriculum, provide minimal instructional value, and disrupt teaching and learning. We can now support classroom learning throughout the year to help all students achieve their full potential while still producing valid, reliable, comparable results that can be used in school accountability systems. This truly is the next generation of assessment.” 

Montana and Louisiana are both piloting MasteryGuide with tens of thousands of students as both states transition to more student-centered assessment models. In Montana, state officials secured a rare federal waiver this year that allowed the state to administer MasteryGuide in place of the traditional accountability test.  

For more information about New Meridian’s MasteryGuide Assessments, please contact info@newmeridiancorp.org.