Page 43 - 21st Century Competencies: Foundation Document for Discussion

In Ontario, the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO)
is exploring technology-enabled assessment, beginning with the use of computer-based assessments as an alternative to paper-and-pencil tests, with the hope of moving towards more transformative-based assessments in the future.
A variety of challenges have been identified in international research that would need to be addressed in order to develop the assessments required
for 21st century competencies. The U.S. National Research Council study Education for Life and Work (Pellegrino & Hilton, 2012, pp. 11–12) organizes these challenges according to four main themes:
1. a multiplicity of competency frameworks: Research to date has produced many different lists and rankings of competencies. Attention needs to be focused on identifying a subset of competencies that properly define what expectations for students would look like;
2. psychometric challenges: The National Research Council study explains that “further research is needed to develop assessments of intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies. . . . Cognitive competencies are measured using well-established and validated standardized testing methods. By contrast, non-cognitive competencies are almost always measured by ratings rather than tests – either self-ratings or ratings by observers
who are not experts” (Pellegrino & Hilton, 2012, pp. 12, 52). In Ontario, teachers continue to build their understanding of assessment and evaluation of students’ learning skills and work habits. This serves as an important building block as Ontario establishes its approach to defining and measuring 21st century competencies, particularly in the intrapersonal and interpersonal domains;
Section Four: Implications for Practice 41