This paper describes a study of the perceptions that Saskatchewan school principals have regarding large-scale assessment reform and their perceptions of how assessment reform has affected their roles as principals. The findings revealed that large-scale assessments, especially provincial assessments, have affected the principal in Saskatchewan…

Better School District introduced its assessment and evaluation policy and regulations in 2006. Three years later, the Director of Education learned that the policy was not fully implemented in all schools. The main issue was teacher noncompliance with the provision of interventions for students who miss assignments and tests or submit work late.…

This study explored how teachers and school administrators connect large-scale assessment results with school improvement planning. Using a semi-structured format, 20 teachers and 17 administrators were interviewed from two school districts in southern Ontario, Canada. The interview protocol contained a range of questions related to teaching and…

Grade 3 teachers in Ontario must administer the Primary Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics to their students. In this study, we analyze how four teachers framed and addressed the problem of the stress some of their students experienced when sitting the test. The teachers framed the problem in different ways: as related to students'…

On national and international assessments, students attending French-language schools in Ontario usually perform worse than students attending English-language schools. Interpreting these results is challenging because the French- and English-language schools differ both in prescribed curriculum and in how the curriculum is taught. In addition,…

In recent years, an increase in the number of large-scale assessment programs in Canada has been observed. However, due to the provincial/territorial control of education throughout Canada, the format and purposes of these assessment programs vary. The central purpose of this study was to document the format and explicit purposes of the current…

This study examined factors at the school, district, and provincial level that influenced school administrators' responses to large-scale assessment. To understand administrators' perspectives, 5 secondary and 4 elementary administrators from a suburban school district in southern Ontario, Canada were interviewed. Key factors noted by…

Throughout this era of greater educational accountability, assessment researchers have argued that large-scale comparative assessment data can enhance learning within and across systems of education and can foster reforms based on the practices of high achieving jurisdictions. Other researchers are less optimistic, warning that educational reform…

The goal of this study was to examine how and to what extent Ontario secondary teachers have implemented educational reforms that had a direct impact on students, teachers, and the curriculum. The survey concluded that secondary school teachers at randomly selected Ontario secondary schools were overworked, lacked in-service professional…

Recent focus on student achievement and the effectiveness of schools, school boards, and teachers has lead to increased demands for accountability in education. Large scale assessments are now used in most provinces in Canada to examine the degree to which educational standards are being reached and explore issues of accountability. Alternative…