An examination of English teachers' opinions about the Ontario Grade 9 reading and writing test

• Published in: Interchange (Toronto. 1984) 2001, Vol.32 (2), p.131-145
• Main Authors: LAM, Tony C. M, BORDIGNON, Catherine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Assessment and knowledges control; Canada; Docimology; Education; Education reform; Educational change; Educational sciences; Evaluation; Examinations; Literacy; Opinion; Polls & surveys; Reading; School work. Docimology. Guidance; Secondary level; Standardized tests; Teachers; Testing; Writing
• ISSN: 0826-4805; 1573-1790
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1011938109935

Interest in the use of large-scale achievement testing for accountability purposes & to drive instructional reform has been increasing in Canada. In 1995 publications in this journal, several researchers debated the merits & demerits of standardized achievement testing, including among the latter a tendency to reduce the curriculum & overemphasize routine learning (ie, "teaching to the test"). Almost no studies have found empirical evidence for such testing's purported benefits. We set out to investigate these issues in Ontario, presenting findings from a mail survey designed to find out Grade 9 & Grade 10 English teachers' perceptions of the quality of the Grade 9 literacy testing program & the effects it has had on the teaching & learning processes. Based on the responses of 107 teachers, our results paint a negative picture of teachers' opinions of the Grade 9 test in terms of its quality & its impact on teaching & learning. Three years after the Grade 9 test was first introduced, Grade 9 & 10 English teachers are still not convinced of its value. Our findings (& those from two other similar surveys) appear to suggest, at least based on teachers' self-reporting, that the purposes of the test - improving the quality of education & learning as envisioned by the Ontario Ministry of Education & Training - have not been met. These findings support those of other assessment impact studies in Canada, namely British Columbia & Alberta, regarding the adverse consequences of large-scale standardized testing (either multiple-choice test or performance-based assessment), & the lack of evidence for its purported positive educational influences. We recommend future research to investigate further the validity & the educational impact of the provincial tests & the reasons responsible for the observed impact or lack of it, & to determine resources, such as teacher training & materials, necessary to supplement the provincial testing programs' efforts to improve teaching & learning. 23 References. Adapted from the source document