Assessment & Motivation

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Why it works

Research on achievement goal theory distinguishes a mastery orientation (focused on learning, improvement, and understanding) from a performance orientation (focused on demonstrating ability, getting good grades, and avoiding looking incompetent), and shows mastery orientation is associated with deeper engagement, persistence, and learning, while a heavy performance orientation can lead to anxiety, avoiding challenge, and surface learning. Crucially, assessment practices shape which orientation students adopt: an emphasis on grades, ranking, comparison, and high-stakes judgment pushes toward performance, while emphasizing growth, feedback, improvement, and learning from mistakes fosters mastery. Teachers can deliberately use assessment to cultivate a mastery orientation.

The research: Achievement goal theory (Dweck; Ames).

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: use assessment to cultivate mastery

Teachers leave with assessment practices tuned toward mastery.

Notice whether your assessment pushes students toward performance (grades, ranking, comparison) or mastery (growth, learning).
Emphasize growth, improvement, and learning from mistakes.
Favor feedback and reassessment over ranking and finality.
Reduce unnecessary stakes and comparison.

Assess for mastery, not just performanceAssessment shapes whether students chase grades or learning. Emphasize growth, feedback, and learning from mistakes to cultivate a mastery orientation, not just performance.

Facilitator notes

Emphasize growth and improvement, and treat mistakes as learning.
Favor feedback and reassessment.
Reduce stakes and comparison; cultivate mastery.

Grade-and-rank-focused assessment breeds performance orientationHeavy emphasis on grades, ranking, and comparison pushes students toward anxiety and avoiding challenge. Assess for growth and learning to cultivate mastery.

Adapt it

Elementary: growth, mistakes-as-learning, feedback.
Secondary: growth, reassessment, reduced comparison.
All settings: emphasize growth and learning, reduce ranking and stakes.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Assessment & Motivation: cultivate mastery

Chase learning, not grades: emphasize growth and mistakes-as-learning, favor feedback and reassessment, reduce comparison.

Whether my assessment pushes toward performance or mastery:
How I emphasize growth, improvement, and learning from mistakes:
How I favor feedback and reassessment over ranking:
How I reduce unnecessary stakes and comparison:
A practice that pushes performance to change:

Make it stick

Cultivate mastery:

Assess for mastery.
Emphasize growth.
Bring a mastery-oriented assessment practice to the next PLC.

Common questions

What's the difference between mastery and performance orientation?

Mastery orientation focuses on learning, improvement, and understanding; performance orientation focuses on grades, looking smart, and avoiding failure. Mastery is linked to deeper, more persistent learning.

How do assessment practices affect this?

Emphasizing grades, ranking, and comparison pushes students toward performance (and anxiety, avoiding challenge). Emphasizing growth, feedback, and learning from mistakes fosters a mastery orientation.

How do I cultivate a mastery orientation?

Emphasize growth and improvement over ranking, treat mistakes as learning, give feedback over just grades, allow reassessment, and reduce the stakes and comparison where you can.