Page 5 - Learning for All – A Guide to Effective Assessment and Instruction for All Students, Kindergarten to Grade 12, 2013

Preface
Learning for All, Kindergarten to Grade 121 is a resource guide outlining an integrated process of assessment and instruction for elementary and secondary school educators across Ontario that is designed to help raise the bar and close the gap in achievement for all students. The guide supports the three core priorities for education in Ontario:
• High levels of student achievement
• Reduced gaps in student achievement
• Increased public confidence in publicly funded education
Background
Education for All, Kindergarten to Grade 6
In 2005, the Ministry of Education released Education for All: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy Instruction for Students With Special Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade 6.2 That document was instrumental in helping to improve achievement in literacy and numeracy among students with special education needs.
The implementation of Education for All, K–6 was supported by two projects in the field. The Special Education Project “Essential for Some, Good for All” (2005−08), conducted by the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE), implemented the recommendations in Education for All, K–6, with a focus on literacy and numeracy instructional strategies,
to improve student achievement for all students and in particular for students with special education needs. The other project – the Student Assessment Project, Kindergarten to Grade 4 (2006–08), conducted by the Ontario Psychological Association – provided educators and professional services staff with strategies to strengthen the connection between assessment and classroom teaching for students with diverse strengths and needs.
The encouraging results achieved through these two projects, together with the positive response of educators in both elementary and secondary schools to the ideas and strategies outlined in Education for All, K–6, gave the ministry the directional support to develop a resource that would assist Ontario educators in raising the bar and closing the achievement gap for all students, from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
Developing Learning for All, K–12
As a first step in developing a K–12 resource guide following from Education for All, K−6, the ministry confirmed, through broad consultation with educators and other stakeholder groups, that the guiding principles and key themes of Education for All, K–6 were essential to any effort to improve the achievement of all students across the education system. As a
1. Referred to henceforth as Learning for All, K–12. 2. Referred to henceforth as Education for All, K–6.
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