Students’ performance on state developed and norm-referenced assessments is a major concern of educators. Schools may devote many hours to “test preparation,” hoping that this will increase students’ scores. Yet, policymakers have expressed concern over this practice, suggesting that it can result in invalid measures of student achievement, divert attention from crucial subject matter, and provide less than optimal models for students.

Data presented in this report suggest that a rational alternative to extensive test preparation is to ensure that students make adequate progress, at mastery, through Reading Mastery Signature Edition (RMSE) and Connecting Math Concepts: Comprehensive Edition (CMCCE). The data suggest that when students have attained mastery at their assigned grade level in these programs the probability that they will pass the state assessments is very high. The influence of cumulative mastery of the curriculum is independent of students’ prior achievement, providing hope for students who have struggled with low assessment scores in the past.