This paper examines assessment policies for K-12 education in Ontario, Canada. We begin with a discussion of Ontario's education system, and then turn our focus to Ontario's K-12 assessment policies serving multiple purposes for accountability and classroom learning. We first examine the Educational Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), which…

One of the major functions of large-scale assessment is educational accountability. The expectation for the improvement of instruction based on test results is called "professional accountability" and it is built into provincial assessment policies across Canada. This study asked teachers to self-report on instructional changes they have…

Key findings from a new study highlight how Learning Forward's long-standing position on professional learning correlates with practices in high-performing systems in Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and British Columbia. The purpose of this article is to share key findings from the study so that educators might apply them to strengthening…

The Ministry of Advanced Education (British Columbia) continues to work on key deliverables outlined in the "Minister's 2015/16 Mandate Letter" (see Appendix B) and the "BC Jobs Plan" to contribute to a strong economy and secure tomorrow for British Columbians. The ability of citizens to take full advantage of their growing…

For 2015/16, the Ministry of Advanced Education (British Columbia) will continue to work towards its vision of a leading-edge post-secondary system to support a strong economy and secure tomorrow. Through the Ministry's goals, it will advance government priorities including the "BC Jobs Plan," "B.C.'s Skills for Jobs Blueprint:…

This report illustrates how four high-performing systems--British Columbia (Canada), Hong Kong, Shanghai (China) and Singapore--developed their teacher professional learning. The report and accompanying materials are designed as a resource for teachers, school leaders and policymakers wanting to improve teacher professional learning in their…

Prepared for a Strategic Education Governance learning seminar, this working paper analyses the ways in which the Dutch government tried to reach overarching goals in education, in a system characterised by a high degree of distributed autonomy of education institutions and the participation of multiple actors, and consequently a government highly…

British Columbia's Ministry of Advanced Education's "2014/15-2016/17 Service Plan" supports achievement of government's strategic priorities of a: (1) Strong Economy; and (2) Secure Tomorrow. The Ministry will continue to work towards its vision of a leading-edge post-secondary system for strong communities and bright futures. To realize…

Accountability, "the extent to which one must answer to higher authority for one's actions" (Shafritz & Russell, 2000, p. 343), is a critical part of corporate and democratic life. In public institutions, sound accountability processes assure those in executive, governance, audit and "elected official" roles that public…

In Canada, the province of Ontario has had a rather turbulent relationship with interdisciplinarity as it has tried to implement this practice into the public school system. Specifically, the provincial government has repeatedly attempted to introduce such reforms as integrated units, harmonized objectives, and open-concept, student-centered pods,…

This paper contributes to the debate over how the federal government can best help state and local authorities improve student achievement by providing examples from other countries of innovations in the role of the national government. The authors believe that the degree to which foreign policy structures parallel those of the United States are…

School systems aspire to provide equal opportunity for all, irrespective of socio-economic status (SES). Much of the criticism of recent school reforms that introduce accountability, autonomy, and choice emphasizes their potentially negative consequences for equity. This report provides new evidence on how national features of accountability,…