Monitoring Student Progress in Mathematics and Science
In Ontario, teachers are responsible for classroom assessment and evaluation to improve student learning. Teachers and early childhood educators bring varied assessment and evaluation approaches to the classroom, including assessment “for, as, and of” learning.18 The Ministry’s curriculum policy documents include an achievement chart that identifies four categories of knowledge and skills: knowledge and understanding, thinking and inquiry, application, and communication. The achievement chart is a standard province-wide guide used by teachers to make judgments about student work that are based on clear performance standards and on a body of evidence collected over time.19
The Education Quality and Accountability Office, an agency of the Ministry of Education, develops and administers annual large scale provincial assessments. Assessments are administered in English or French to all students in Grades 3 and 6 in reading, writing, and mathematics, in Grade 9 in mathematics, and in Grade 10, when the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is first administered. Results do not affect student grades or promotion in Grades 3, 6, and 9. An option exists to count the results of the Grade 9 mathematics assessment as a portion of the overall course grade. To obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, all students must meet a graduation literacy requirement by passing the OSSLT. Students who are not successful on this test may retake it or satisfy the requirement by completing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course instead.
The Grade 3, 6, and 9 assessments are based on Ontario curriculum expectations, and the OSSLT is based on the cross-curricular reading and writing expectations up to the end of Grade 9. All assessments include both selected response and open response questions, and all writing assessments include extended writing. (More information on provincial assessments may be found on the Education Quality and Accountability Office website.)20