Understanding mastery levels

1. Not StartedChapter still locked
2. LearningUnlocked — no practice attempts yet
3. PracticingBest Practice Quiz score under 60%
4. ImprovingBest score 60–79%
5. ApplyingPractice Quiz cleared at 80%+ — the Skills Exam is all that's left (skipped for chapters without one)
6. ProficientBoth gates cleared at 80%+ — the Mastery Challenge is unlocked
7. MasteredMastery Challenge passed at 90%+

Each chapter shows one of seven mastery levels so you always know what to focus on next: Not Started, Learning, Practicing, Improving, Applying, Proficient, and Mastered. The level tracks your progress through that chapter's gates — Practice Quiz, then Skills Exam, then the Mastery Challenge — and always uses your best attempt at each, not your most recent one.

Here's exactly how a chapter moves up. Not Started means it's still locked. Once it unlocks, and before you've made a practice attempt, it's Learning. After your first attempt, your best Practice Quiz score sets the level: under 60% is Practicing, and 60–79% is Improving.

At 80% or higher the Practice Quiz gate is cleared, and what happens next depends on the chapter. If it has a Skills Exam, you move to Applying — practice is behind you, and the Skills Exam is the one thing left before the Mastery Challenge opens. Clear that at 80% too and you reach Proficient, which means every gate is behind you and the Mastery Challenge is unlocked. Chapters without a Skills Exam have only one gate, so 80% on the Practice Quiz takes you straight to Proficient.

The final step, Mastered, doesn't come from either gate — it's earned by passing that chapter's Mastery Challenge with 90% or higher.