Growing Success

As of September 2010, assessment, evaluation, and reporting in Ontario schools is based on the policies and practices described in Growing Success - Below are a few highlights!

"The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning." pg.6

"It is worth noting, right from the start, that assessment is a human process, conducted by and with human beings, and subject inevitably to the frailties of human judgement. However crisp and objective we might try to make it, and however neatly quantifiable may be our “results”, assessment is closer to an art than a science. It is, after all, an exercise in human communication. (Sutton p.2)" pg.29

The Seven Fundamental Principles pg.6

To ensure that assessment, evaluation, and reporting are valid and reliable, and that they lead

to the improvement of learning for all students, teachers use practices and procedures that:

• are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;

• support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning the

language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Métis, or Inuit;

• are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much

as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students;

• are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year or course

and at other appropriate points throughout the school year or course;

• are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple

opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;

• provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support

improved learning and achievement;

• develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific

goals, and plan next steps for their learning.

Criterion-referenced Assessment and Evaluation pg.19

Ontario, like a number of other jurisdictions, has moved from norm-referenced to criterion-referenced assessment and evaluation. This means that teachers assess and evaluate student work with reference to established criteria for four levels of achievement that are standard across the province, rather than by comparison with work done by other students, or through the ranking of student performance, or with reference to performance standards developed by individual teachers for their own classrooms. (There is no expectation that a certain number or percentage of students must be allocated to any one level of achievement.) 

Evidence of Student Achievement for Evaluation pg.39

Evidence of student achievement for evaluation is collected over time from three different sources - observations, conversations, and student products. Using multiple sources of evidence increases the reliability and validity of the evaluation of student learning.

Professional judgement pg.152

Judgement that is informed by professional knowledge of curriculum expectations, context, evidence of learning, methods of instruction and assessment, and the criteria and standards that indicate success in student learning. In professional practice, judgement involves a purposeful and systematic thinking process that evolves in terms of accuracy and insight with ongoing reflection and self-correction.