A new Vision for Provincewide testing (OTF Report)

For the past year the  Ontario  Teachers’ Federation  (OTF)  has worked on a new vision for student assessment in Ontario – one that examines other means of measuring student  achievement and demonstrating accountability to the public. The principal thrust of the new vision is to move to some form of random sample testing. Random sampling could be done as a pilot and would involve only a selected number of students or schools participating in provincial tests. It would reduce the constant pressure on every school to prepare for the tests and would avoid the nefarious practice of ranking schools.

Currently,  Ontario  students  participate  in  several  national  and international assessments in reading, mathematics, and science. These tests assess a random sample of students in each jurisdiction. The most recent results from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)  and  the  Programme  for  International  Student  Assessment (PISA) demonstrate that Ontario students are among the top performing in the world. Interestingly, our students’ achievement  was highest in science, an area that has not been a subject of provincial testing and the pressures it generates. These results  engender public confidence in Ontario schools and their capacity to provide a world-class education.

Large-scale testing compromises sound pedagogy. Formative assessment is the most beneficial for students because it monitors individual student performance and provides immediate feedback.

Standards-based testing measures the students’ status on curriculum expectations of which there are far too many – several hundred per grade in language and mathematics. Although EQAO tests only contain a small subset of these expectations, teachers do not know which ones will be assessed in any one year. Accordingly, they are forced to cover all expectations in breadth but do not have time to teach them in depth.

EQAO testing can also compromise the richness of  students’ educational experiences. Testing and test preparation take away important instructional time. Furthermore, EQAO results arrive at the school after the child has moved on to another grade, so they do not provide meaningful or timely feedback on how students can improve.

EQAO tests measure a very narrow span of a child’s potential. Their focus diminishes respect and support for the many other areas in which students can excel, such as technology, the arts, and physical education. Every teacher understands the importance of a child’s self-esteem. Unfortunately, many  students  experience setbacks due to anxiety and loss of self-confidence when faced with the prospect of not meeting arbitrarily set  achievement levels. (Originally EQAO tests had an achievement standard of level two. The previous Conservative government changed the standard to level three. Interestingly,  international  testing  agencies  have always set the standard at level two.)

Teachers are well aware that the province requires data to make educational policy decisions and to guide educational initiatives. The information gained from a random sample of students would  be  as  relevant as  the  results of  testing all  students. The net  effect would be  considerably  less  stress  for  students,  parents, teachers, and educational workers. There would also be significant savings, funds that could be reinvested to provide services for students with special needs, and English language learners, and to reduce class size in Junior and Intermediate grades.

After eleven years of  experiencing EQAO testing, it’s time to review the organization’s mandate and look for a new vision of student assessment that includes a role for provincial data  but  which  relies  more  on  the  ongoing formal  assessment and reporting provided by classroom teachers.