Many factors influence student achievement including individual learning needs, resources available to support teaching and learning, and the socioeconomic characteristics of the community. Understanding and interpreting the results of student evaluation must take into account the entire learning context.
Assessment should eliminate cultural and gender bias
Since standardized tests do not reflect the multicultural nature of society, some students are at a disadvantage. Eliminating gender and cultural bias is one of the principles in Principles for Fair Student Assessment Practices for Education in Canada. Large-scale provincial assessments must be free of gender and cultural bias to ensure fairness to all students in the province.
Assessment results should be used for their intended purpose only
Provincial achievement test results are now mistakenly used as a measure of school accountability, and many schools use positive results as a promotional tool. This use undermines public confidence in other schools and provides a distorted view of accountability. Student evaluation and assessment practices must suit the purposes for which they are intended. Standardized diagnostic and intelligence tests can be used to identify a student's special learning needs, but these tests must be administered and interpreted by a qualified professional, and the results should not be amalgamated with curriculum assessment data.
