Canada

Monitoring Student Progress in Reading

Canadian teachers use a variety of approaches to monitor student progress, including ongoing classroom assessments and jurisdictional and pan-Canadian assessments.

• Pan-Canadian Assessment—The Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) is the continuation of the commitment of the Council of Ministers of Education to informing Canadians about student achievement in reading, mathematics, and science. The program assesses the performance of students in Grade 8 (Secondary II in Quebec) every three years. The most recent assessment took place in 2016, with reading as its major assessment focus.³²
• Jurisdictional Assessments—Jurisdiction level tests and the point of their administration (e.g., grades) differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In general, each jurisdiction has several curriculum‑based assessment programs that evaluate students’ reading ability at different moments of elementary and/or secondary school. For instance, Alberta requires students to take a provincial examination in language arts in Grades 3, 6, and 9 and a diploma examination in Grade 12; Quebec has an examination in language arts at the end of elementary and secondary school; and Ontario students are assessed in reading and writing in Grades 3 and 6 and take the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) starting in Grade 10. The marks from jurisdiction level tests are used to different extents as part of the final class mark and/or graduation requirement. For example, while jurisdiction level assessments are not used as part of studentsʼ final grades in Ontario, passing the OSSLT is a graduation requirement. In general, following the administration of a provincial/territorial test, detailed reports at the district, school, class, and student levels are generated to help schools and teachers identify their students’ strengths and areas for improvement.^33,34,35
• Classroom assessments—Teachers generally use a variety of informal reading strategies (including teacher observations, portfolios, and classroom-based tests) for formative and summative purposes. Student progress usually is documented through report cards that indicate students’ performance in relation to the jurisdiction’s curriculum and includes information on attitudes, work habits, effort, and social responsibility. Teachers in some schools also may assess reading achievement via standardized tests such as the Canadian Achievement Tests (CAT), the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test, and the Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA).^36,37,38 Student progress is communicated to parents by report cards, parent‑teacher conferences, and emails or informally through regular communication.³⁹