Standardized Testing In Canada

Standardized Testing in Canada

A survey was undertaken to obtain information about the use of standardized tests in assessing the achievement of Canadian elementary and secondary school students. This information was garnered from the ministries or departments of education of all ten Canadian provinces and one territory, and a sample of about 120 of the local school boards in the country. The questionnaires sent to the ministries and school boards were similar, and consisted of two parts. The first part contained questions of a general nature about the province-wide testing program, if any, that had been conducted during the 1991-92 school year. The second part of the questionnaire was focused on the particular tests used in system-wide testing by province or board during any of the four academic years 1989-90 to 1992-93.

The Pedagogy of Standardized Testing

Based on a large-scale international study of teachers in Los Angeles, Chicago, Ontario, and New York, this book illustrates the ways increased use of high-stakes standardized testing is fundamentally changing education in the US and Canada with a negative overall impact on the way teachers teach and students learn. Standardized testing makes understanding students' strengths and weaknesses more difficult, and class time spent on testing consumes scarce time and attention needed to support the success of all students—further disadvantaging ELLs, students with exceptionalities, low income, and racially minoritized students.

Passing the Test