How Reaves Academy Measures Mastery

The CALE engine · patent 64/007,323 · no hidden algorithm

Every number on a Reaves Academy dashboard comes from one transparent engine. Here are the exact rules that produce SmartScore, mastery, at-risk, and active — so a teacher, parent, or district can trust what they see.

1SmartScore — the mastery measure (0–100)

Every skill starts at 0. SmartScore is earned, answer by answer, with asymmetric scoring: gains are small, mistakes cost more — and cost the most near mastery. This means an 80 can't be guessed into; it has to be earned and held.

Current score	Correct answer	Wrong answer	Why
90–100	+0.5	−8	Challenge Zone — near-perfect consistency required
80–89	+1	−8	Mastery must be defended
50–79	+2	−5	Building real understanding
0–49	+2	−3	Room to grow, gentle penalty

Decay: scores fade on a 7-day half-life if a skill isn't practiced — mastery reflects current understanding, not a one-time result.

2Mastery — level & percentage

A skill's SmartScore maps to a plain-language level, and 80% is the mastery bar (aligned to the national-standard proficiency threshold):

Level	SmartScore	Meaning
Not started	—	No attempts yet
Beginning	1–49	Early attempts, frequent errors
Developing	50–79	Solid progress, not yet consistent
Mastered	80–100	Consistent, durable understanding

"At mastery" = SmartScore ≥ 80. A class or district % at mastery is simply the share of students who've reached 80 on the skill; avg mastery is the average SmartScore.

3Error type — what drives the coaching

Every wrong answer is classified by response time, which decides the help a student gets (this is separate from the point penalty):

Careless (< 2s) — answered too fast. Fix: a quick nudge, not a reteach.
Misconception (2–8s) — a confident wrong idea (e.g., "a game is a need"). Fix: targeted reteach of that concept.
Conceptual (> 8s) — a genuine knowledge gap. Fix: scaffolded teaching moment.

4At-risk — the exact flag

A student is flagged at-risk when either rule fires:
(a) Struggling: SmartScore < 50 on a skill with repeated misconception errors — they're stuck, not just slow.
(b) Disengaged: no activity for 7+ days — CALE flags a drop-off before the score decays.

Example: Sofia — SmartScore 41 (<50) with 3 repeated Needs-vs-Wants misconceptions → rule (a). Jayden — SmartScore 78 but idle 9 days → rule (b). Different triggers, same flag.

5Active — the exact rule

Active = completed ≥ 1 module in the last 7 days. "75% active" means 6 of 8 students worked this week. It measures engagement — independent of score.

6How the numbers connect

One SmartScore drives everything — mastery (≥80), at-risk rule (a), and every roll-up (class avg, % at mastery, district).
Active is separate — it's recency of work, not performance. A student can be active but low (Sofia) or high but inactive (Jayden).
Error type drives the recommendation — misconceptions → reteach · careless → quick practice · ≥80 → advance · 7+ days idle → contact family.

Powered by CALE (Competitive Adaptive Learning Engine), patent 64/007,323, combining IXL-style asymmetric scoring, Duolingo-style decay, and ALEKS-style prerequisites. Canonical spec: coinquest.xml <cale-canonical>. Questions: Jreaves31@gmail.com.