Standardized Assessment and Classroom Evaluation

The implementation of uniform assessments in publicly-funded elementary and secondary schools remains a reality for students in Ontario, Canada. External assessments, among other mandates, is a means of public accountability for tax-payers’ investment in education. Standardized Assessment and Classroom Evaluation: A Comprehensive Examination discusses both the benefits and limitations of imposing standardized external assessments on students and teachers. In this context, over 600 grade nine students’ scores on a standardized provincial assessment of language and comprehension were correlated with their final marks in grade nine English. Using the Pearson r correlation coefficient method, various tests of association, and the visual indicators of scatterplots, boxplots, and stem and leaf graphs, significant relationships were examined for each of the 3 sample schools. Such data is beneficial to all educational stakeholders, particularly as educational reforms are often associated directly to measures of accountability, and in some provinces and states, to standards-based outcomes and testing.