Mastery — how it works
Mastery is the part of the site that tracks how confident each student is on every sub-topic, shown as a simple Red / Amber / Green grid. This page explains it in plain English — and if you'd rather not use it, you can hide it.
The one rule that keeps it safe
Nothing changes a student's mastery grid on its own. A teacher is always in control. AI marking and student self-ratings only ever create a suggestion — the grid changes when the teacher approves it (or sets a colour themselves).
Coverage vs mastery — not the same thing
Coverage = “I have taught this topic” (you tick it off / it comes from lesson logs).
Mastery = “the student can actually do this topic” (Red/Amber/Green).
Ticking a topic as taught never colours a student's mastery grid — the two are deliberately kept separate so “covered” is never mistaken for “understood”.
How teachers update mastery
- Approve suggestions in the Marking Inbox. When AI marks an upload or a student self-rates, it lands here as a pending suggestion. Open Marking Inbox, glance at the working, and hit Approve (or adjust the colour first). Only then does the grid move.
- Set a colour directly. On a student's mastery grid (from your dashboard → Jump to a student's mastery, or the class board) click any cell to set Red, Amber or Green. A teacher's decision writes straight away — that's your professional judgement.
How students update mastery
Everything a student does is a request that goes to their teacher — it never colours the grid by itself:
- Do some practice (Focus mode, daily challenge, a set homework) — the AI marks it and suggests a colour.
- Upload a photo of written work — the AI reads it and suggests a colour.
- Self-rate confidence on the syllabus checklist — that's a gentle signal to the teacher.
Then the teacher confirms it, and the student watches their grid turn greener over time.
Don't want to use mastery? Hide it.
Mastery is optional. On your Teacher Dashboard use the “Mastery: Show / Hide” toggle at the top to tuck away the mastery heatmap and grids. Everything else keeps working — setting homework, AI marking, mark book, games and reports are all unaffected. Flip it back on any time.
New here? Start with this
You do not need to understand everything on day one. The minimum loop is: set homework → students submit → you approve the AI's marking. Mastery grids, heatmaps and self-ratings are all optional extras that build up over time. If they feel like clutter, hide mastery and just use homework + marking.
Quick questions
Do I have to use mastery / RAG at all?
No. Setting homework, AI marking, the mark book, games and reports all work without ever touching mastery. Use the Show/Hide toggle on your dashboard to remove it from view.
How do I set homework?
Use Set homework (or the DP weekly homework generator). Pick the sub-topics, choose your class, set a due date, and publish. Students see it in their homework list.
How do students submit and how does marking work?
Students tick tasks off and, where you asked for it, upload a photo of their working. The AI marks the photo and proposes a Red/Amber/Green — which waits for you in the Marking Inbox. Nothing is final until you approve it.
What is the Marking Inbox?
Your one queue of pending AI suggestions from student uploads and self-ratings. Skim the working, approve or tweak the colour. This is the only thing that moves mastery from student activity.
Where do the practice questions come from — are they real past papers?
No. They're original, AI-generated questions written to match the Edexcel/IB style and difficulty, deliberately different from past papers and third-party sites so they're copyright-safe.
Can I run a fun lesson without any tracking?
Yes — head to Classroom Activities or a live game. No sign-up or mastery needed to play.
Why is a student's grid empty?
No approved evidence yet. Once they practise or upload work and you approve the suggestion (or you set a colour yourself), cells fill in.
A student did work but their grid didn't change — why?
It's waiting for you. Check the Marking Inbox for a pending suggestion and approve it.
How is the class heatmap score worked out?
It favours AI-verified marks (70%) over student self-assessment (30%). If only one source has data for a unit, that source is used at full weight.
If I set a colour, can the AI overwrite it later?
No. A teacher's set colour is authoritative — new AI suggestions still queue in the inbox for you to decide on.
What's the difference between “covered” and “mastered”?
Covered = you've taught it. Mastered = the student can do it (their R/A/G). Ticking a topic as taught never colours a student's grid.