Express_2011_05_27

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.

2011 CENSUS Count yourself in!

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