On a scale of 1 to 10, howmuch faith do
director of school performance studies and co-
you place in statistics? Don’t be shy. There
author of the Report Card on Ontario’s
are no wrong answers here, class.
Secondary Schools 2011, agrees that there are
Although the greatest joys in life are
positive trends.
intangible, almost every facet of our lives is
Butwithmorethanaquarterofstudentsstill
measured.
falling below the provincial standard, there is
There are incalculable benefits to the
room for academic improvement across the
ability to quantify everything. Information
province, he points out.
is power. Besides, the more data we have,
BrianDesbiens, chairof theEQAOBoardof
the betterwe are able to arrive at intelligent
Academics, edifice complex
Directors,writesontheorganization’swebsite
decisions.
that,“Thecurrentformofprovince-widetesting
agenda” to ensure student success.
As taxpayers, we deserve to have access
wasfirstintroducedinOntariointhemid1990s,
In eastern Ontario, over the last few years,
“I think we’re really understanding that at
to as many facts as possible in order to
inpartbecauseparentsandtaxpayersdemanded
widespreadevidenceoftheedificecomplexhas
the end of the day we can have all of the best
determine if we are getting our money’s
atransparentdemonstrationofstudentlearning
been manifested through the construction of
curriculum,allofthebestsupportivedevicesand
worth. But not all yardsticks are created
outcomes.Thatsaid,onewouldbehardpressed
several newand expensive schools.
all of the best technology, but at the heart of any
equal, obviously.
to findanypersonor organization inOntario’s
We see that large sums are allocated for the
greatclassroom,anygreatschool,andanygreat
That continues to be the centre of the
educationsystem,leastofallEQAO,suggesting
salariesofwell-paidadministrativestaff.Thelist
board of education is an agenda of rigorous
ongoingdebateoverhowour schools are to
that provincial test scores shouldbe theonly—
ofpublicemployeeswhomake$100,000annually
care,” saidThomas.
be classified.
or even the most important—measure of
contains the names of several school board
Many argue that standardized testing is a
The jury is still out on the worth of the
accountability.It’simportanttoconsiderawide
people.
way to show that you care about the future of
regular report cards handed out by the
rangeofachievementinformationtoevaluatea
However, taxpayers have little insight into
children. Marks have been improving over the
Education Quality and Accountability
student’s learning.”
whatgoesoninsidethosesleeknewinstitutions.
last decade.
Office, which administers standardized
Moretransparencyandchoicemaynotadd
Scrutiny never hurt anyone. Sure, it may
Some 28,000more Grade 6 studentsmet the
province-wide testing.
up to a “free and prosperous world,” as the
elevatestresslevels,buteveryoneissubjectedto
provincial standard in reading and writing in
But many educators outright condemn
Fraser Institute suggests.
some sort of inspection at some time in their
2010 than in 2000.
the conclusions provided by the Fraser
But they may result in more informed and
lives.Peerreviewsandconstructivecriticism,in
Michael Thomas, Fraser Institute associate
Institute, the think tank that espouses the
happier taxpayers.
mostcases,leadtohigherstandards,andgreater
notion of a “free and prosperous world
personalsatisfaction.Moraletendstorisewhen
through
choice,
markets
and
the bar is raised.
responsibility.” The organization, among
The Upper Canada District School Board,
otherthings,studiestheimpactgovernment
whose schools’ scores are all over the map,
interventionhasonindividualsandsociety.
“remainsopentoanydataorstudythatprovides
The institute takesEQAOnumbers tocome
informationleadingtoimprovementsinteaching
up with its annual report card, which is
and learning,” the board’s Associate Director,
based on exam results in multiple subject
IanCarswell, said in a press release.
areas, the percentage of exam results that
“Themostvaluableinformationweconsider
7, RUE CROOKS, GRENVILLE, QC • 819 242-2986
are below standard, and each school’s
is derived from the regular and ongoing
overall rating. The report cardalsocontains
assessments conducted by teachers and
the average parental income at each school
NOUVEAU
ENTRETIEN DE VR Inspection des freins, attaches-remorques etc.
principals, as well as that furnished by the
and the percentage of English as a second
Education Quality and Accountability Office,
language and special needs students
and other district assessments. The ranking of
enrolled.
schools, on a comparative basis (such as the
In the most recent publication, as usual,
FraserReportsecondaryschoolrankings),does
some of the secondary schools in eastern
not offer a precise understanding of exactly
Ontariowererankedfairlyhighwhileothers
where improvement efforts shouldbe directed
Nous vendons différents modèles de remorques en aluminium (légères et résistantes).
were way down on the list. Every school is
and, as such, is regarded by our staff as having
unique.
limited use. We don’t teach schools, we teach
Manyschoolboardadministratorsbristle
students.Itismoreaccountableandusefultouse
B149726
whenever the Fraser scores are produced,
datathatmeasuresachievementonastudentby
saying that the institute presents a skewed
student basis. The datawe receive fromEQAO
vision of what goes on in schools.
isfarricherandmorevaluableininformingour
However, as taxpayers, we have limited
efforts than the simple rankorderingof schools
knowledge of how our school tax dollars
providedbytheFraserReport.”Speakingabout
are being spent.
his annual report, Director of EducationDavid
It is easy to see that large sums are being
Thomasemphasizedthecriticalneedfora“caring
spent on new facilities.
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