Resources · Mastery
Mastery rubrics.
One rubric per unit, plus the three demonstration rubrics. Every rubric uses the same three levels — Not yet, Approaching, Mastered — so the bar is identical for every student.
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How the rubrics work
The grading philosophy behind every rubric — decisions not points, a vocabulary published in advance, three tokens that absorb a bad day, and how unit mastery becomes a letter grade.
Unit rubrics
A mastery rubric for each of the eight units. Each one names exactly what a student must be able to do — not how many points they earned — to reach Mastered.
Unit 01
The Sky & Celestial Motion
Diurnal motion, the celestial sphere, sky coordinates, the seasons, and Moon phases.
Unit 02
The History of Astronomy
Ancient sky models, the Copernican shift, Kepler's laws, and Galileo's telescope.
Unit 03
Light, Telescopes & Spectra
The electromagnetic spectrum, how telescopes gather light, and reading spectra.
Unit 04
The Solar System
The Sun's family: planets, moons, asteroids and comets, and how it all formed.
Unit 05
The Sun & the Stars
Stellar properties, the H–R diagram, stellar life cycles, and the distance ladder.
Unit 06
Galaxies & the Milky Way
Our galaxy, galaxy types, dark matter, and the large-scale structure of the cosmos.
Unit 07
Cosmology & the Big Bang
Redshift, Hubble's law, the cosmic microwave background, and the expanding universe.
Unit 08
Space Exploration & Life in the Universe
Rockets and missions, the search for exoplanets, and the question of life beyond Earth.
Demonstration rubrics
The three live demonstrations a student defends in person. These are the AI-proof assessments — you can't paste your way through any of them.
Demonstration
Observation-journal defense
Defending your multi-week sky journal — the sketches, the data, and the conclusions you drew.
Demonstration
Timed sky-and-data reading
Reading a star chart, spectrum, or light curve correctly, against the clock.
Demonstration
Lab-notebook defense
Standing behind your recorded methods, data, and reasoning out loud.