A Preliminary Analysis of Mastery Criterion Level: Effects on Response Maintenance

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Background:

• Educators utilize mastery criteria to assess skill acquisition in children with developmental disabilities, including autism.
• Current research lacks data on how varying mastery criterion accuracy levels impact response maintenance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of three mastery criterion levels (50%, 80%, and 90% accuracy) on response maintenance in children with autism.
• To determine if higher accuracy thresholds for skill acquisition lead to better long-term retention.

Main Methods:

• Three elementary school-age children diagnosed with autism participated in the study.
• Participants learned a set of skills, with mastery determined by 50%, 80%, or 90% accuracy levels.
• Response maintenance was assessed weekly for 3–4 weeks post-mastery.

Main Results:

• Higher mastery criterion levels were associated with increased response maintenance.
• Children reaching the 90% accuracy criterion demonstrated superior maintenance of acquired skills.
• A positive correlation was observed between mastery accuracy and skill retention.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest that a 90% accuracy mastery criterion enhances response maintenance for skills taught to children with autism.
• Further research is required to understand how different mastery criterion parameters influence the generalization of learned skills.