Quality & Verification
Who assesses the work — and how we keep it fair.
A MastaLearn certificate is earned by submitting a portfolio of real classroom work and having it assessed against a published rubric. This page sets out exactly who reviews that work, what they look for, how long it takes, and how a school can check a certificate is genuine.
MastaLearn awards independently verified, evidence-based professional development credentials. Our pathways prepare educators for curriculum implementation through applied practicums, lesson planning frameworks, and observed teaching practice. MastaLearn programs are autonomous preparatory courses designed for classroom practitioners; we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge Assessment International Education or the International Baccalaureate Organization. Cambridge IGCSE and IB are registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Assessors
Who reviews your portfolio and practicum
Assessment is done by teachers and curriculum specialists, not by a general marking team.
Practising classroom teachers
Every portfolio is marked by a teacher with at least five years' classroom experience in the curriculum the course covers — IGCSE, IB or CBC. Assessors are currently teaching or have led a department, so the feedback comes from someone who has marked that work in a real school.
Curriculum specialists
Subject accuracy is checked by a curriculum specialist for the subject and framework: syllabus references, command words, assessment objectives and mark-scheme conventions. If a course maps to a published syllabus, the mapping is verified by someone who teaches it.
A second assessor on every borderline
Any portfolio sitting near a grade boundary is marked independently by a second assessor before the result is released. Where the two marks differ on a criterion, the assessors agree a mark with reference to the rubric and record the reason.
Evidence
What you submit
Three artifacts, each small enough to be part of a normal teaching week. Nothing here requires time off timetable.
A scheme of work
Two weeks of sequenced planning for your own subject, mapped to published syllabus objectives, with the assessment point identified.
A differentiated lesson plan
One lesson plan showing how you support the range of learners in front of you — scaffolds, extension, and language support where relevant.
A marked student sample
A piece of student work annotated against criteria, with the feedback you actually gave and what you did next in teaching.
The review process
From upload to result
Four steps, with a stated turnaround at each one. If we miss the assessment window, we tell you before you have to ask.
Submission check
You upload your portfolio to your course workspace. We check within two working days that all required artifacts are present and legible — before an assessor's time is used.
First assessment
An assessor marks every criterion against the published rubric and writes feedback on what you did well and what to do differently. Typical turnaround is ten working days.
Moderation
Borderline portfolios are second-marked. A sample of every cohort's passes is reviewed for consistency, so the same evidence earns the same mark whoever marks it.
Outcome and next step
You receive the result with written feedback and the rubric. If a criterion is not yet met, you can resubmit once with the assessor's notes in hand.
Submission check: 2 working days
Full assessment: typically 10 working days
One resubmission per criterion, no extra fee
Certificates & badges
How certificates are issued and verified
A certificate is a claim a school can check in seconds. Here is what it does and does not say.
Every certificate has a unique ID
Certificates carry a verification code and a QR code. Scanning it opens a public page confirming the learner's name, the course, the grade and the date — no account needed.
What the public page shows
The verified skills list for the course, the capstone grade, and the syllabus units covered. It shows that a named person submitted and passed a portfolio; it does not claim any external accreditation.
If evidence is not the learner's own
Portfolios must be the teacher's own classroom work. If evidence is shown to be copied or misattributed, the certificate is withdrawn and the verification page records the withdrawal.
Internal standards
The checks behind every cohort
These are the rules our assessors work to. They are published so that teachers and school leaders can hold us to them.
- Every criterion in the rubric is observable in a submitted artifact — nothing is graded on impression.
- Assessors do not mark portfolios from their own school or from anyone they have taught.
- Ten per cent of passes in each cohort are re-marked as a calibration sample.
- Assessor marks are compared at monthly calibration meetings; where they drift, the rubric wording is tightened.
- Feedback must name a next step, not just a grade. A result without actionable feedback is sent back.
- Records — portfolio, marks, assessor notes and moderation decisions — are retained for five years.
What we do not claim
MastaLearn is an independent professional development provider. Our routes are designed against the published standards of Cambridge IGCSE, the IB and CBC so that the work is relevant to those classrooms — but a MastaLearn certificate is not a Cambridge, IB or government teaching qualification, and it is not a substitute for one.
We do not state or imply endorsement, approval or accreditation by Cambridge Assessment International Education, the International Baccalaureate Organization, or any ministry of education. Where schools require an official qualification, we will say so plainly.
A question about how a specific certificate will be read in your context? Ask us before you enrol and we will answer in writing.
Ask a question about assessmentRead the rubric before you enrol
Every course publishes its competencies and assessment criteria. Browse the catalogue or try a sample lesson first.