Page 25 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Technological Education, 2009 (revised)

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
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BASIC CONSIDERATIONS
The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Information gathered through assessment helps teachers to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses in their achievement of the curriculum expectations in each course. This information also serves to guide teachers in adapting curriculum and instructional approaches to students’ needs and in assessing the overall effectiveness of programs and classroom practices.
Assessment is the process of gathering information from a variety of sources (including assignments, day-to-day observations, conversations or conferences, demonstrations, projects, performances, and tests) that accurately reflects how well a student is achieving the curriculum expectations in a course. As part of assessment, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback that guides their efforts towards improvement. Evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of student work on the basis of established criteria, and assigning a value to represent that quality.
Assessment and evaluation will be based on the provincial curriculum expectations and the achievement levels outlined in this document.
In order to ensure that assessment and evaluation are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of student learning, teachers must use assessment and evalua- tion strategies that:
address both what students learn and how well they learn;
are based both on the categories of knowledge and skills and on the achievement level descriptions given in the achievement chart on pages 28–29;
are varied in nature, administered over a period of time, and designed to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
are appropriate for the learning activities used, the purposes of instruction, and the needs and experiences of the students;