The present study interviewed 16 international students (13 from Mainland China and 3 from Taiwan) in a Canadian university to explore their perceptions and experiences of two standardized English writing tests: the TWE (Test of Written English) and the essay task in LPI (English Language Proficiency Index). In Western Canada, TWE is used as an…

Kristin L. Main teaches the Ontario Literacy Course, an alternative course designed to support students who have failed the required standardized test for high school graduation. She sees the purpose of the class as giving students a chance to feel successful and helping them to see the practical value of purposeful communication and integrated…

This article analyzes three decades of educational reform strategies pertaining to ethnocultural diversity in the United States and Canada and how they affect the efforts of four secondary schools, two in each context, to respond to increasing student diversity. Data include 186 teacher interviews drawn from a large ethnographic study. The article…

Test-based accountability programs are designed to promote improved standards of teaching and learning within the systems of education that they are connected to. Brenan [Brenan, A. L. (2006). "Perspectives on the evolution and future of educational measurement." In: Robert (Ed.), "Educational measurement" (4th ed., pp. 1-16).…

While debates over standardized testing are ubiquitous, there has been relatively little consideration of how today's standardized testing practices have arisen. The current study provides a chronology of standardized testing within Alberta, Canada. Starting from prior work by Foucault and others on "governmentality", we propose that the…

This report has a simple aim: to present results from international assessments so readers can judge for themselves how American students stack up globally. It's intended to be a stand-alone supplement to the "Education Olympics" web event held between August 8th and August 22nd, 2008 (see edolympics.net). It shows how the U.S. has…

This article is a compilation of the views of 16 PhD students and the author on Steven Klees' 2007 article titled, "A quarter century of neoliberal thinking in education: Misleading analyses and failed policies." The students and the author have taken Klees' article as a stimulus to try and explicate the anatomy of the decline of the…

Most school-age boys score lower than girls at every level on standardized tests of reading comprehension in almost every country where tested. The amount of reading that a child does is directly related to reading fluency; the more one reads, the more proficient one becomes. After reviewing theories and research studies investigating why boys…

Standardized testing is here to stay. Critics are serving a useful purpose in that they force users to examine benefits and the drawbacks. This process has an inevitable spinoff effect since almost every user of standardized tests is involved in a classroom situation where informal testing is ongoing. (Author)

In Medicine Hat, Alberta, standardized test results are not made public and are used as a tool for identifying strengths and dealing with weaknesses. Teachers review test results, then propose changes and try new approaches. However, Edmonton Public Schools, Alberta, released test results for each of the 190 schools in the district, claiming the…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is widely used to screen university applicants for whom English is not their native language. Although the cutoff scores vary, in Ontario those with scores much lower than 550 are rarely admitted to any university. Two exceptions are the University of Western Ontario and its affiliate, Brescia…

A contextual understanding of general education classroom teachers' reasons for a student's referral for special education services provides insight into this initial step in the identification process. The philosophy of social constructivism (Bruner, 1987; Freedman & Combs, 1996; Vygotsky, 1978) provides a backdrop for the underlying…

Today, many classroom teachers are busy preparing for standardized tests. The No Child Left Behind Act encourages such behavior. Little time is left to devote to subjects that previously were considered a vital part of the curriculum, such as social studies, physical education, art, and music. Needless to say, if these subjects have taken a back…

Describes a testing program initiated by the University of New Brunswick (Saint John Campus) to evaluate the French proficiency level of their students according to norms standardized throughout Canada. The evaluators used the Public Service Commission tests which were administered to a group of volunteer students for two succeeding years.…

Percentile scores for Vancouver students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 on the AAHPER Cooperative Physical Education Tests are presented. Two of the six forms of the tests were used in these administrations. Every form consists of 60 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 40 minutes. A single score, based on the number of questions answered…