Page 101 - Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools. First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12. 2010

APPENDIX 1 | large–scale assessments
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APPENDIX 1: LARGE–SCALE ASSESSMENTS
The purpose of PIRLS is to help countries make informed decisions about reading education by providing international comparative data about students’ reading achievement in Grade 4. PIRLS focuses on the following two purposes for reading:
• for literacy experience
• to acquire and use information
PIRLS also uses questionnaires completed by students, parents, teachers, school principals, and officials to collect a broad array of background information about students’ home and school experiences in learning to read.
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). TIMSS is conducted every four years. Its aim is to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science by providing data about students’ achievement in relation to different types of curricula, instructional practices, and school environments. TIMSS also collects a rich array of contextual information by asking students, their teachers, and their school principals to complete questionnaires about the curriculum, schools, classrooms, and instruction. This information gives policy makers, curriculum specialists, and researchers a dynamic picture of how educational policies and practices are implemented around the world, providing an invaluable perspective from which to consider educational reform and improvement.
TIMSS assesses achievement at various grade levels, including Grades 4 and 8.
APPENDIX 1