Page 100 - Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools. First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12. 2010

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GROWING SUCCESS | assessment, evaluation, and reporting in Ontario schools
APPENDIX 1: LARGE–SCALE ASSESSMENTS
The goals of PCAP are to:
• inform Canadians about how well their education systems are meeting the needs of students and society;
• give the ministers of education a basis for analysing and evaluating the curriculum and other aspects of their school systems;
• inform educational policies to improve approaches to learning, with a focus on mathematics, reading, and science;
• provide useful background information using complementary context questionnaires for students, teachers, and school administrators;
• provide participating jurisdictions with data they can use to validate the results of their own assessment programs and identify and guide needed improvements.
INTERNATIONAL LARGE-SCALE ASSESSMENTS Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a collaborative effort among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). PISA reports on reading literacy, mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy every three years for fifteen-year-old students. In addition, students and school principals complete questionnaires to collect contextual information.
PISA measures skills that are generally recognized as key outcomes of the educational process. The assessment focuses on young people’s ability to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. These skills are believed to be prerequisites for efficient learning in adulthood and for full participation in society.
PISA permits exploration of the ways in which achievement varies across different social and economic groups and the factors that influence these variations within and among countries. In Canada, questions about equity can be answered by examining the distribution of competencies and whether certain groups or regions appear to be at risk.
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). PIRLS is conducted every five years and assesses students’ reading achievement in Grade 4.