Peel Passages, Summer 2005 - Peel Elementary Teachers` Local

VOLUME
A ROCKY ROAD
TO SUCCESS
Collective Bargaining in Peel
A LOOK AT
TEACHER
EXCHANGES
WHAT ARE WE
TESTING FOR?
Examining Standardized Testing
7
NUMBER
3
Summer 2005
CONTRIBUTORS
Peel Elementary Teachers’ Local
PASSAGES
VOLUME
7
NUMBER
3
Summer 2005
TIM CUNNINGHAM is Second Vice
President of the Peel Elementary Teachers’
Local.
ETFO Peel Local
DOUG HITCHCOCK is the Peel Elementary
Teachers’ Local Occupational Health and
Safety teacher advisor.
PATRICIA McADIE is a research officer with
the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of
Ontario.
SHARRON RAYMOND is Chair of the
Collective Bargaining Committee and
president-elect for the 2005/2006 and
2006/2007 school years.
CATHY SMITH is president of the Peel
Elementary Teachers’ Local.
6435 Edwards Blvd. #5/6
Mississauga, Ontario
Canada L5T 2P7
Tel: 905 564 7233
Fax: 905 564 7236
Toll Free: 877 772 3836
www.etfopeel.com
The opinions expressed in
Peel Passages do not necessarily
reflect official policy of ETFO, PETL
or the Editorial Board.
EDITOR
Kurt Uriarte
EDITING TEAM
Sabina Freemantle
Matthew Curran
Gail Novack
PRODUCTION
Thistle Printing Ltd.
MARGARET STEWART is past president of
the Prince Edward Island Teachers’
Federation.
DESIGN & LAYOUT
Blind Pig Design
CONTRIBUTING ARTIST
Rick Taylor
KURT URIARTE is First Vice President of
the Peel Elementary Teachers’ Local and
editor of the award-winning Peel Passages.
MARINA WILLATS is a Grade Seven teacher
at Fletcher’s Creek Public School.
Advertising Inquiries should be
directed to Kurt Uriarte at
905 564 7233
kurtu@etfopeel.com
ETFO Provincial
Tel:416 962 3836
Toll Free: 888 838 3836
www.etfo.on.ca
LOCAL EXECUTIVE
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
2
13
From the Editor
Kurt Uriarte
3
The Long and Winding Road
Cathy Smith
7
If You Don’t Take a Stand for
Your Students, Who Will?
Kurt Uriarte
8
The Perils of Testing
Margaret Stewart
16
What Are We Testing For?
Examining Standardized Testing
18
Testing the Limits
Patricia McAdie
The Year in Retrospect
Tim Cunningham
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES
AROUND PEEL
10
Collective Bargaining
22
A Look at Teacher Exchanges
12
Occupational Health & Safety
24
Book Reviews
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?
Send to kurtu@etfopeel.com
visit us online at www.etfopeel.com
FROM THE EDITOR
It has been a very busy year in Peel and around the
province. We have made some positive gains in planning
time and working conditions. Now teachers need to
ensure that this new contractual language is followed.
In this issue of Peel Passages, Sharron Raymond reviews the bargaining process here in
Peel and looks at where we are going, while Cathy Smith looks back on her career as she
prepares to enter the adventure of retirement. Tim Cunningham reflects on his first year as
a release officer in Peel and Doug Hitchcock reviews ministry procedures for violence in
schools.
With the beginning of summer comes the marking of EQAO. Despite the revamping and
watering down of the testing process this year by the Liberals, EQAO remains a tool of the
government to demonstrate to the public “improvements in education” come election
time. However, EQAO continues to be destructive to public education and teachers should
not assist in marking it! Last year Peel Passages covered the issue of so called
“standardized testing.” Considering the continued relevance and importance of the issue,
we have included the article once more.
I know many of us are looking forward to the summer break in order to get caught up on
reading we have put off throughout the year. In case you are looking for any suggestions,
we have included two book reviews – one professional and one leisure – both of which are
sure to keep you turning pages.
Have a relaxing and re-energizing summer. You deserve it!
In Solidarity,
Kurt Uriarte
2
PEEL PASSAGES
LOCAL EXECUTIVE
The Long and
Winding Road
BY
CATHY SMITH
My initial career aspirations did not include being a teacher. My family included a
long line of teachers: my great aunt had been a teacher; my mother and older sister
were teachers; many of my friends went from Grade 13 right into teachers’ college.
In fact my great, great grandmother’s teaching certificate
from the Normal School of
Upper Canada in 1855/6 was
signed by Egerton Ryerson.
I was going to do something
different.
In September 1969, I
attended the University of
Western Ontario where I elected
to take mainly science and math
courses. Being a true product of
the “sixties,” I was discounting
the notion that these courses
were more suited for males.
After first year I went to Bark
Lake Leadership Centre for a
week in June with a group of
Grade 8 students from my
sister’s school. This experience
dramatically changed my career
plans, as I realized how much I
enjoyed working with young
people.
In 1971 I attended
Lakeshore Teachers’ College
and received my teaching
certificate. I applied for a job
with the London Board of
Education, but jobs were scarce
as many Boards were facing
declining enrollments. I got
married in June 1972 and
moved to London believing that
I would begin my teaching
career as an occasional teacher.
I was granted an interview late
in August for what I thought
was a supply teaching position,
and to my great surprise, at the
end of the interview I was
offered a job to teach Grade 5 at
Clara Brenton Public School.
My starting salary was $6300
and I got a $300 raise at Christmas. That was the beginning of
many different assignments
over the next several years. At
that time, there was no provision for planning time, with the
exception of the Grade 7 and 8
teachers who had planning time
when their class had French and
Home Economics or Industrial
Arts. Primary and junior teachers received no planning time.
I have always believed in
the importance of being a part
of the professional organization.
I began my involvement with
the Federation serving as the
“Key Teacher” for my school in
1973. This was the beginning of
a very tumultuous time for
education. That fall, teachers in
several school boards submitted
resignations en masse, effective
December 31, when their
bargaining reached an
impasse. The government
responded with Bill 274 that
changed the effective date of
resignations to August 31. Next
came Bill 275 that banned the
right to strike and mandated
compulsory arbitration, introduced on December 10. On
December 18, 1973, teachers
across the province walked out
of their classrooms and 30,000
gathered in Toronto for a rally at
Maple Leaf Gardens and a
demonstration at Queen’s Park.
The offending bills were
withdrawn on December 21,
1973. I attended my first Annual
Meeting in August 1974.
In 1975 the government
passed teacher bargaining
legislation: the School Boards
and Teachers Collective Negotiations Act of 1975, commonly
called Bill 100. That October,
SUMMER 2005
3
LOCAL EXECUTIVE
the federal government passed
the Anti-Inflation Act. The
legislation covered all public
sector workplaces and private
sector companies with 500 or
more employees. Wage
increases were capped at 10
percent in the first year, eight
percent in the second, and six
percent in the third. However, in
1978, as declining enrollment
continued to hit the elementary
schools of the province, Boards
responded by laying off teachers. The federations developed
model language containing
objective criteria for measuring
seniority to be used to identify
those to be laid off or transferred, a procedure for declaring
layoffs and fair recall procedures
The federations also countered the move to lay teachers
off with creative alternatives
such as deferred salary leave
plans, part-time positions with
the guarantee of return to fulltime, early retirement incentive
plans, relaxation of pension
requirements for part-year
employment, smaller class sizes,
job sharing plans, leave opportunities and retraining for other
positions.
In 1979, the elementary
teachers in Peel Region were
the first public elementary
educators to exercise their right
to strike with a full withdrawal
of their services. This included
my mother and sister. My
mother had the difficult task of
being a principal of a school at
the time and so was required,
because of her role, to cross the
picket line. She did however
support the strike by donating
the wages she earned to the
strike fund. The result of the
4
PEEL PASSAGES
strike in Peel is the Transfer and
Surplus language that is in
Peel’s current collective agreement.
During this time I continued
my involvement in the federation by serving on the Joint
Economic Policy Committee
now known as the Collective
Bargaining Committee. In June
1981, my first daughter was
born. At that time I qualified for
eight weeks of paid maternity
leave. I returned to a full time
position in September 1981. By
the time my second daughter
was born in December 1984,
improvements to maternity
leave provisions allowed me to
stay home with my new baby for
12 weeks of paid maternity
leave.
Changes to legislation
continued. In 1982, Ontario
passed wage controls with Bill
179, the Inflation Restraint Act.
It curtailed the bargaining
rights of public sector workers,
including teachers, by extending their collective agreements,
removing the right to strike for
the duration of the controls and
capping salary increases at five
percent.
In 1987, the public elementary teachers of Metropolitan
Toronto went on strike for 18
days to get preparation time
provisions in their collective
agreement. This agreement
paved the way for others to
include guaranteed preparation
time in their collective agreements.
In 1988, Ontario passed the
Pay Equity Act. The federations
negotiated the collapse of the
three pre-degree grid categories
into one, improving the salaries
of thousands of members,
mostly women.
In 1989, thousands of
teachers rallied at Copps
Coliseum in Hamilton, site of
the Liberal convention, to
protest pension negotiations.
Teachers wanted a partnership;
that partnership was achieved
in the 1990s under the NDP
government.
In 1990, I decided to move
back to Mississauga and was
hired to teach Junior Kindergarten at Settler’s Green Public
School. Once in Peel I became
involved with PWTA serving as
“Key Teacher” and as the “E.A.
Rep” for my school. When the
Government of the day in its
wisdom cancelled all funding
for JK and the Peel Board
decided to cancel the program, I
found myself looking for a new
position. Over 200 teachers
were laid off from the Board and
my seniority number came
uncomfortably close. I was
offered a position at Settler’s
Green to teach the Primary
Interval Program, which I
accepted, and remained in that
assignment for seven years. The
years at Settler’s Green provided me with the opportunity
to work with exceptional and
supportive colleagues. During
this time I served on the
executive of both PWTA and the
Educators’ Association.
In 1993, the same NDP
government under Premier Bob
Rae imposed the social contract.
It limited public sector salary
increases and froze teachers on
the grid. Included in the social
contract were unpaid days off.
Changes to education continued
when the Royal Commission
Report, For the Love of Learning,
CONTINUED
ON
PAGE
28
SUMMER 2005
5
LOCAL EXECUTIVE
6
PEEL PASSAGES
LOCAL EXECUTIVE
If You Don’t Take a Stand for
Your Students, Who Will?
BY KURT URIARTE
As a Grade 3 teacher, I know full well the amount of work that goes into EQAO
and it has bothered me more and more each year. What bothers me isn’t just the
two to three weeks wrenched from our schedule during the busiest time of the
year in order to subject our students to stress inducing, timed tests.
Nor is it just the fact that the
the province, and presently
decision every year to mark the
whole Grade 3 team has been
ETFO has an advisory to
test, ensuring that the EQAO
planning the entire year’s
members not to participate in
cycle continues without a glitch.
curriculum with its multitude of
the marking process.
Most markers don’t look at the
expectations, topics and units,
If each teacher in Ontario
larger issues and just see the
to be completed by April, in
followed the advisory and
money at the end of it. But isn’t
order to make room for testing.
refused to mark the tests, then
a strong education system
Nor is it just the fact that even
maybe, just maybe, the governwhere students aren’t stressed
though the testing costs millions
ment would be forced to listen.
out and ranked by ill-conceived,
a year, it ranks schools and
The Ministry might hear our
timed tests more important than
students like commodities, and
concerns that the tests harm
a few extra bucks in the sumgoes against the best of current
both the system and students.
mer?
teaching pedagogy.
We can send this message only
Often, markers feel that they
No, what really outrages me
with our actions – or in this case
are just one person and that if
is how we as teachers allow it to
our inaction. Do not mark the
they don’t mark it this year then
happen! Why do we permit the
test!
someone else will. But what
government to waste
would happen if we
precious time and
and all the other
resources, and
people who think,
subject our students
“someone else
If you are already signed up to mark the test,
to so much anxiety
will,” refused to
it’s simple, just don’t show up.
over tests that we
mark the test this
know do not paint
summer? What if
Actively encourage others not to sign up, talk
an accurate picture
teachers across
to as many colleagues as you can.
of our students’
Ontario took a
ability? Why do we
stand on principle
not stop the entire process in its
and refused to voluntarily
As a professional I will
tracks? It’s simple! If we don’t
participate? We would send a
follow my EQAO and report
mark the tests, the cycle is
strong message!
card paper filing duties as best I
broken.
The government and public
can even though my energy
In 2002, at our Provincial
need to know that EQAO is a
would be much better spent
AGM, I put forward a resolution
harmful, expensive and stressfocused on my classroom. I will
that stated “That ETFO encourful, waste of time. Teachers need
not however, participate in the
age members not to participate
to take a stand on principle this
parts of the process I’m not
in any EQAO marking exersummer and say no to EQAO.
required to.
cises.” It was passed unaniDo not mark the test! ÿ
Many teachers are continumously by delegates from across
ing to make the conscious
WHAT YOU CAN DO…
SUMMER 2005
7
LOCAL EXECUTIVE
The Year in Retrospect
BY
TIM CUNNINGHAM
In reflecting on the school year, I realize it has been quite busy. Having come to
the position of Second Vice President in late September, there was much to learn.
I also found that the year
reinforced my old concepts
about ETFO, particularly that
ETFO is about teachers and
public education.
One of the most important
aspects of the Federation is its
support of teachers and therefore letting them concentrate on
doing the best job possible in
questions related to it, can be
quite complex and confusing.
Why is it that a leave around
such a natural event in one’s life
can be so complex? Different
laws and legislation govern
maternity and parental leaves.
Federal legislation, provincial
legislation and our own collective agreement, when inter-
We have seen an unprecedented number of
members interested in being a part of the
delegation to the Provincial Annual Meeting.
the classroom. This support is
offered in different ways.
Whether it is creating professional development opportunities, supporting teachers
through TPA difficulties or
assisting teachers with difficulties with their principal or fellow
colleagues, ETFO is there to
support them.
One of the areas that has
generated a large influx of calls
over the year is maternity leave.
It became apparent to me that
maternity leaves, and the
8
PEEL PASSAGES
twined with individual circumstances of due date, time of year
and when the teacher is going
to start their leave, can make for
some challenging questions and
issues, which the Local can help
you sort out.
Member support also comes
in the form of assistance with
the Long-Term Disability (LTD)
process. Part of my job this year
was to help educate members
on what exactly LTD is, and how
it worked. As questions came in,
it became clear to me that there
are many misconceptions about
Long-Term Disability, which can
unfortunately result in disappointment and frustration for
members. The Local will
continue to try to make this
process run as smoothly as
possible for members.
This year we have seen an
unprecedented number of
members interested in being a
part of the Peel delegation to the
Provincial Annual Meeting in
August. This in itself is important and exciting. It demonstrates a renewed interest in our
professional organization, both
at a local level as well as at the
provincial level.
Communication continues to
be an important issue between
the Local office and the membership. The office is continually
developing more effective
means of communication
between the membership and
the Local office. Vast improvements have been made to the
website (www.etfopeel.com)
resulting in improved communication between the Local and
the membership. Important
LOCAL EXECUTIVE
documents have been put online, and a secure-site for
stewards was created so that
they could keep members
abreast of breaking news, as
well as updates during negotiations. Communication continues
to come in the form of publications such as the Local Link,
Steward Bulletin, Health Matters
and Peel Passages. This was the
first year that every school in
Peel was visited by a released
officer. These visits were a great
opportunity for us to meet with
members, hear their concerns
and speak directly to them about
negotiation issues.
This has been a pivotal year
for negotiations and our Collective Agreement. Many issues
needed to be addressed and
were. Inroads have finally been
made on issues of maternity
benefits, working conditions
and planning time. All of these
gains could not have been made
without the resolve of the
membership. Without your
support for the bargaining team
and each other, these gains
would not have been possible.
It became quite evident to the
Board that Peel elementary
teachers would not back down
and were demanding respect,
and that these issues needed to
be not only recognized, but also
addressed.
As we move forward into
next year, it is imperative that
this momentum continues.
ETFO must strive to improve
the support it offers its members, and members need to stay
informed and involved. With
this dedication we will build a
professional organization of
which we can be proud. ÿ
SUMMER 2005
9
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
A Rocky Road to
Success
BY
SHARRON RAYMOND
Every contract negotiations have a flavour all their own. This round can
only be described as ‘Rocky Road.’ For Peel elementary teachers, negotiations were marked by a series of unprecedented milestones.
There was the RESPECT button
campaign, job actions, a historic
provincial framework and a 52hour marathon negotiation
session. Through it all the
negotiation team and membership remained resolute in their
determination to achieve a fair
collective agreement in order to
improve the working lives of
teachers.
Ten months ago, the negotiation process was set in motion.
From the first meeting, it was
evident that achieving a fair
settlement would hinge on a
well informed, united membership. Visits by the released
officers to close to 200 sites took
information and facts directly to
the membership. The RESPECT
button campaign became the
visual demonstration of our
10 PEEL PASSAGES
unity. Whether in the hallways
of schools or the boardrooms of
CBO, teachers delivered a loud,
clear message. Even the
Minister of Education, Gerard
Kennedy, was presented with a
RESPECT button and reminded
that teachers required and
deserved additional preparation
time to ensure a quality education for all Ontario students.
Elementary teachers would no
longer wait quietly to be given
respect; they demanded respect
now.
If facts and logic guaranteed
success, the Peel elementary
teachers’ trek would have been
a direct route to success. But
negotiation isn’t about reason –
it isn’t about doing what is right
– it is about withholding, taking
and sharing power. For the
majority of local members,
having to enact strike sanctions
was a new experience. Peel
elementary teachers had not
exercised their collective resolve
through the implementation of
job actions since 1979. But as
one Steward put it so eloquently, “If not now, when?”
The dedication of school
Stewards was remarkable.
Distributing bulletins, answering questions, rallying the
support of their colleagues, as
well as attending and holding
meetings, marked the valuable
contribution made by a few
teachers to guarantee improvements for all teachers.
Just as hard as it was for
teachers to withdraw their many
voluntary services, it was
equally difficult to lift job
sanctions without having
achieved a tentative agreement.
As unprecedented as this was,
the imposition of a provincial
framework added a second
extraordinary element to
already complicated negotiations. Many boards of education
took the position that the
framework was the deal, or
at least the upper limit, of
any settlement. At the
same time, teacher locals
saw the framework as a
starting point for discussions. Both parties brought
their own interpretations of the
framework to the table. Suddenly, negotiations were no
longer a two-party exercise;
there were now five distinct and
separate agendas operating: the
Local’s, the Board’s, ETFO
Provincial’s, the Ontario Public
School Boards Association’s and
the Ministry of Education’s.
While the framework embodied
many of the working condition
issues Peel teachers had given
their negotiation team a 95
percent strike mandate to
achieve, there still remained
many local issues that were not
going to go away.
With the June 1 deadline
looming and the clock ticking,
the Board and the Local met on
May 25 to attempt to hammer
out a fair settlement. As was
reported to Stewards at the
time, negotiations were painstakingly slow. Late on Thursday,
May 26, what appeared to be an
Ratification by the Local
membership and the Board
marked the beginning of a new
era in Peel for elementary
teachers. No one would pretend
that all of our issues have been
completely resolved, but we are
clearly heading down the right
road. Successful implementa-
Fifty-two hours after negotiations had begun,
the Local and the Board representatives shook
hands and signed a tentative agreement.
insurmountable obstacle
blocked the road to agreement.
Members were quickly
informed that a return to job
actions was probably unavoidable. It was at this time that the
negotiation team drew heavily
on the will and strength of the
5,600 elementary teachers. It
was the knowledge that we
jointly held one vision and one
goal that energized the negotiation team. Fifty-two hours after
negotiations had begun on May
25, the Local and the Board
representatives shook hands
and signed a tentative agreement.
tion of the new collective
agreement will require the
united efforts of a vigilant
membership. As each new
clause takes effect, we must
ensure that it is done correctly.
We must guard against breaches
of new provisions. Improvements to working conditions
were hard-won and came as a
result of the solidarity demonstrated by the membership.
Successful implementation will
also require the same demonstration of resolve. Our work is
not complete. We must continue
to work together for a better
future. ÿ
SUMMER 2005 11
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
Workplace Violence
BY
DOUG HITCHCOCK
This article contains summary of key legislation concerning violent incidents in
schools. The ratification of our new contract has brought with it new Health and
Safety obligations.
Contract clause 20.05 states
“Violence shall be defined as
any incident in which a teacher
is intimidated, threatened or
assaulted.” Violence must never
be an expected part of your
employment.
The Peel District School
Board, like any employer, has an
obligation to “take every
precaution reasonable” to
protect the safety of its workers.
POLICE INVOLVEMENT
The Peel District School Board
works in conjunction with the
Peel Regional Police and the
OPP using the Police and School
Response Protocol which states
that the following incidents
must be reported to the police:
possession of weapons;
threats of serious physical
injury;
physical assaults causing
bodily harm;
sexual assault;
robbery and extortion;
hate motivated violence;
vandalism causing extensive damage to school
property or property located
on school premises.
SUSPENSIONS
Ontario legislation called the
Safe Schools Act states that
A student must* be suspended
from school for:
1. Uttering a threat to inflict
serious bodily harm on another
person.
ing possessing a firearm.
2. Using a weapon to cause or to
threaten bodily harm to another
person.
3. Committing physical assault
on another person that causes
bodily harm requiring treatment
by a medical practitioner.
4. Committing sexual assault.
2. Possessing alcohol or illegal
drugs.
5. Trafficking in weapons or in
illegal drugs.
3. Being under the influence of
alcohol.
6. Committing robbery.
4. Swearing at a teacher or
other person in a position of
authority.
5. Committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive
damage at the pupil’s school or
to property located on the
premises of the pupil’s school.
7. Giving alcohol to a minor.
8. Engaging in another activity
that, under a policy of the board,
is one for which expulsion is
mandatory.
It is mandatory* that a pupil be
expelled if the pupil commits
any of the following infractions
while he or she is at school or is
engaged in a school-related
activity:
There are two types of expulsions: limited and full. Principals can hand out only a limited
expulsion. School Boards can
issue a limited or a full expulsion. A limited expulsion means
that a student can be expelled
from your school for between 21
days and one year. In order to
return to school, a student must
meet the requirements for
return set out by the Board. A
1. Possessing a weapon, includ-
CONTINUED
EXPULSIONS
ON
PAGE
28
ETFO’s DEFINITION OF VIOLENCE
A violent incident encompasses any aggressive act that causes physical or emotional harm to a member and includes violence or any
threatening statement that gives the member reasonable cause to believe that there is a risk of physical or emotional harm. Intent is not a
factor in determining risk to members. It does not matter that an assailant may be incapable of making a reasoned judgement prior to acting.
Visit www.etfopeel.com to download a form for reporting violence to the Local.
12 PEEL PASSAGES
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
The Perils of Testing
BY
MARGARET STEWART
Recently I was asked to provide some information on standardized tests, with a
view to explaining why so many educators and teacher organizations are so
opposed to this particular mode of evaluating student learning and school success.
While I am no expert on this
subject, I have done a good deal
of reading in the area and have
attended a couple of assessment
and evaluation conferences.
While proponents claim these
tests increase accountability (of
teachers, schools, systems), I
have found virtually no philosophical support for them, a
multitude of articles in opposition to them and a good deal of
material designed and marketed
to help teachers and students
prepare for them. There are
several issues to consider.
THE NATURE OF THE TEST
A standardized test is one that is
given and scored in the same
way, no matter where or when it
is given, so that scores of all
students can be compared, one
against the other. Often the
format is multiple choice, so
that they can be machine
scored. Of these, normreferenced tests are used to
evaluate the performance of one
student in relation to the
performance of others, or to
compare individuals to a
“norm.” They are designed so
that results fit a “bell curve,”
with most in the middle, and a
few at the high and at the low
end (questions are chosen on
the basis of how they contribute
to spreading out the scores –
those answered correctly 50
percent of the time).
Criterion-referenced tests,
on the other hand, are supposed
to measure how well an individual has learned a specific body
of knowledge or set of skills, or
how well a student has learned
what is taught in a specific
course or grade. The passing or
acceptable level of performance
is often set by a panel of “experts,” which might include
teachers, members of the
business community, etc. Tests
are described as “high-stakes”
when the results are used to
make decisions about placement, retention, graduation, etc.
It is these high-stakes tests that
have been most criticized by
educators and teachers groups
across the country, and indeed
around the world.
In Standardized Testing:
Undermining Equity in
Education,1 Bernie FroeseGermain argues that while
standardized tests may be
useful in the sorting and
ranking of students, they do not
effectively measure student
learning or development. The
following are among the most
common arguments (parentheses mine):
While tests can be standardized, students cannot.
Without considering the
characteristics of the
students being tested,
results may be misleading
or misinterpreted.
Many types of student
ability which are clearly
among the goals of education are not captured by
standardized tests. Examples include sense of
citizenship, ethics, aesthetic
appreciation, respect for
others, self-esteem, social
competence and intellectual
curiosity. The reality of
multiple intelligences is
largely discounted.
Tests which are to be used
for a large number of
students must be very
general, which leads to
frequent mismatches
between test questions and
curriculum – or what is
taught and what is tested.
(SAIP2 tests are administered to a random sample of
over 35,000 13- and 16-yearolds across Canada. PISA3
involved 265,000 students in
32 countries). An international math and science
assessment in 1996
(TIMSS4) reported testcurriculum matches ranging
from 53 percent in one
province to 98 percent in
another.
Standardized tests tend to
SUMMER 2005 13
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
measure what is easy to
measure (lower-order
recall), and penalize higherorder thinking – analyzing,
synthesizing, forming
hypotheses and problem
solving (for example, there
might be three logical
answers to a multiple choice
question, but only one will
be marked right because
there is no opportunity to
explain one’s answer).
each school and district in the
province.
In the United States, results
are regularly used to inform
decision making about funding
levels, with higher performing
schools being rewarded with
increased funding, and lower
performing schools losing
funding; and to select teachers
for rewards such as enhanced
salaries for high or improved
test results.
HOW THE RESULTS ARE
USED
NEGATIVE IMPACT ON
TEACHING AND LEARNING
While many are concerned with
the nature of the tests, the
greater concern is often with
how the results are used.
Standardized tests results across
the United States, and increasingly across Canada, are being
used to place, retain and track
students; and to compare and
Most opponents of standardized
testing maintain that while
results say little about the
quality of teaching or learning,
there are a number of ways in
which their use may impact
negatively on both. For example:
In an attempt to raise test
Standardized tests tend to measure what is
easy and penalize higher-order thinking.
rank students, teachers, schools
and school boards.
In Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, provincial exams in
a number of Grade 11 and 12
courses account for 30 percent
of the students’ final mark. The
Fraser Institute has used test
results in Alberta and Ontario to
produce and publish “report
cards” which compare results
and then rank schools throughout the province – currently an
impossibility in Prince Edward
Island which does not administer provincial exams. “Report
Card 98,” released publicly by
the New Brunswick Department
of Education Evaluation Branch,
gave provincial exam results for
14 PEEL PASSAGES
scores, teachers may teach
to the test, and curriculum
may become test driven. (At
a recent meeting, I spoke to
teachers from other provinces who admitted doing
just that – even though they
had previously thought they
never would. Alberta
publishes old achievement
tests on the government
website so that teachers and
students may use them to
get ready for the next
round.)
The curriculum may be
narrowed, in order to make
what is taught match more
closely what is tested, and
subjects which are not
routinely tested may be
relegated to second-class
status. (Larry Booi,
President of the Alberta
Teachers’ Association, in an
interview with Today’s
Parent, expressed this very
concern. “Fine arts, languages, practical arts, all
these other areas – physical
education, health – none of
them factor into the schools’
rankings, and so we’ve seen
the deterioration of those
programs because everyone’s obsessed about what
their school gets ranked
on.”5)
Methodologies which are
meant to promote critical
thinking, problem solving,
analysis, hypothesizing and
synthesizing may give way
to an emphasis on recall of
facts and rote learning.
Test preparation and
administration take up
valuable time which could
be used for instruction. (The
Grade 6 Language Arts
Assessment in
Newfoundland is administered over nine days: three
days for the first component
and 60–90 minute blocks
each day for the next six).
In extreme cases reported in
the U.S., because jobs,
reputations, schools, etc.,
are on the line, students
have been encouraged to
cheat, and/or results are
doctored to make a school
look better than it is.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
With parents and teachers in
most jurisdictions feeling that
education is underfunded, many
are concerned that money spent
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
on external exams and standardized tests is necessarily
money which is not spent on
staffing, resource materials,
teacher in-service and professional development. And there
are large sums of money
involved. For example, in June,
2001, the Ontario Ministry of
Education estimated that a new,
expanded testing program
would cost $16,000,000 annually, in addition to $33,000,000
already spent on testing in
Grades 3, 6, 9 and 10.
The last provincial exams
were written in Prince Edward
Island in 1969. We have not
administered any standardized
test to all students at any grade
level since we discontinued use
of the Canadian Test of Basic
Skills in 1991. A cursory look at
the documentation around the
elimination of both of these
programs will show that they
were dropped for many of the
reasons that educators currently
oppose standardized tests.
While the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and its member
organizations have expressed
some concerns about SAIP and
the interpretation of the results,
Prince Edward Island, along
with most provinces and
territories, has participated in
this program, and in PISA.
These tests have a multiplechoice component, but are not
solely in this format. They are
criterion-referenced tests, are
administered to samples of
students only and are not highstakes. For these reasons, they
are perceived as being more
palatable than others.
There are some indications
that there is a backlash beginning against standardized tests
as a means of assessing teaching and learning, and a move
toward what is generally called
“authentic” or “performancebased” assessment. In Prince
Edward Island we are already
there! By continuing to work
with teachers to hone their
assessment/evaluation skills and
working to ensure that assessment is closely linked to learning, as it should be, we can
continue to lead the class!6 ÿ
This article is excerpted from
Passing the Test: The False Promises of Standardized Testing, Marita
Moll, editor. Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives, 2004.
NOTES
1. Froese-Germain, Bernie.
Standardized Testing: Undermining
Equity in Education. Canadian
Teachers’ Federation, 1999.
2. Student Achievement Indicators
Program a project of the Council of
Ministers of Education Canada
(CMEC).
3. Program for International Student
Assessment a project of the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Co-ordinated in Canada by Human
Resources Development Canada
(HRDC), Council of Ministers of
Education Canada (CMEC), Statistics
Canada and provincial ministries and
departments of education.
4. Third International Mathematics and
Science Study conducted under the
auspices of the International
Association for the Evaluation of
Educational Achievement (IEA).
5. Waytiuk, Judy and Brearton, Steve.
“Making the Grade: Your child’s
success in school may depend on
where you live.” Today’s Parent,
September 2002, p. 60.
6. For those who would like more
information on this topic, there is an
abundance of material available. Look
at several issues of almost any recently
published educational journal and you
are likely to find a number of articles.
Check out the Fair Test site on the web
(www.fairtest.org) as well as the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
(www.policyalternatives.ca) and the
Canadian Teachers’ Federation
(www.ctf-fce.ca); read almost anything
by Alfie Kohn (much of it online).
Passing the Test:
The False Promises of Standardized Testing
EDITED BY MARITA MOLL
552 African-American high school students with low skills were expelled from
school in Birmingham, Alabama, just before a big state test. Test scores went up
and the superintendent got a bonus.
“Maybe in the twenty-first century, satire about the schools is no longer even
possible,” says U.S. testing critic Susan Ohanian.
February 2004
ISBN 0-88627-334-X
$24.95
In recent years, and without much public scrutiny, large-scale testing projects
have become firmly established in Canada and around the world. These tests are
now self-perpetuating industries. They divert large sums of public monies from
resource-starved schools. Teachers and students are pressured to increase the
school’s test scores. Low ranking schools are publicly stigmatized. Does any of
this improve learning?
In this collection, researchers, teachers, parents and students speak out about
the problems of standardized testing and the growing opposition to it.
SUMMER 2005 15
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
Ontario Elementary Teachers Vote to
Boycott Marking
At the ETFO (Elementary Teachers’ Federation of
Ontario) 2001 Annual Meeting held in August 2001,
delegates passed the following resolution:
THAT ETFO ENCOURAGE MEMBERS NOT TO
PARTICIPATE IN ANY EQAO MARKING EXERCISE.
Delegates informed the annual meeting that the results
of these assessments have been misused to undermine
the teaching profession and the students on Ontario. As
such, if teachers continue to participate in marking of
these assessments they may be perceived as condoning
and supporting the inappropriate use of assessment
results.
What Are We Testing For?
What’s So Standard About Standardized Testing?
“Where high-stakes testing has become common practice, there is
evidence of low-achieving students being dismissed on test days,
students with low test scores being placed in special education
programs to avoid having their scores reflected in school reports,
students being refused admission on the basis of low scores and
students with low test scores even being encouraged to drop out of
school.”
Froese-Germain, B., Standardized testing + High Stakes Decisions = Educational Inequity, Interchange,
32(2), 111-30, U.S., 2001
TEXAS
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. Advisory to Members, August 2001
http://www.etfo.ca/documents/EQAO_Marking_Update.PDF
Every year, the Texas board of education establishes a “cut grade” –
the number of questions a student must answer correctly to pass a
test. Between 1998 and 2002, the cut grade for tests has decreased
by as many as 11 points, including in the math tests for Grades 4, 8
and 10. The board says the fluctuations simply reflect the varying
level of difficulty of each test and are necessary to maintain equivalent
passing standards. Others worry politics are muddying the results in
Texas. “Once you start digging, its amazing how these scores can be
manipulated for political purposes.”
League Tables Cause Student Burn Out
Schmidt, Sarah, “Texas: Miracle or Mirage?” National Post, November 19, 2002, p. A12
The emerging trend within the media of ranking schools
by assessment results has been unfair to students and is
potentially destructive to the education system.
Some experts believe that exam mania could scar the
emotional health of a generation of children because of
its relentless appetite for high grades at almost any cost.
A paper for the Institute of Public Policy Research
published in the summer argued that high-achieving
students could become success “junkies” and lose sight
of themselves, only feeling accepted if they got straight
As, while those who didn’t make the exam grade could
feel like failures.
The paper, Learning to Trust and Trusting to Learn by
Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer, cited the apparent rise in
eating disorders, burn-out, male disaffection and
behaviour problems, even in the more academic schools,
as signs that all is not well.
It argued that schools which focus too heavily on getting
children through exams and pushing themselves up local
league tables by hook or by crook risk damaging
childrens’ – and teachers’ – emotional health and
skewing broader educational objectives in the process.
The latest official study acknowledges that one in 10
children aged five to 15 will experience a clinically
defined mental health problem. This can lead to children
under-achieving to avoid the risk of failure and, she says,
schools have to provide an environment in which
children feel valued beyond delivering “success” to
parents, the school or the government.
“When there is so much pressure and focus on doing
well, children can feel they are only being valued for
being successful, so they can become depressed if they
are not. They are working for and trying to meet
someone else’s expectations. They end up with very little
pleasure from their own work and they can end up losing
the plot – burnt out or opting out.”
Excerpted from: Wendy Berliner. “Success, the New Drug” UK Guardian, Thursday
November 22, 2001.
16 PEEL PASSAGES
CANADA
In 1998, CMEC decided that SAIP results would be reported in
relationship to “public expectations of student performance.” Claiming
to be too resource-strapped to use any other method, CMEC developed
a shortcut process of chatting up focus groups to generate numbers
that are then represented as public opinion. CMEC now reports all
SAIP results by comparing them to expectations set in this haphazard
way. The media duly reported that, in the most recent tests, Canadian
What’s the Cost of all This Testing?
There is little information available on the financial costs of
standardized testing. Especially for the international tests and surveys,
the costs are spread over the various partners involved in the exercise
and are not easily accessible. The cost in teacher and student time
and resources, often called “in kind contributions” is frequently not
calculated. Nevertheless, the information below, collected from news
releases and newspaper articles, shows that the costs are
considerable. Unfortunately, the benefits, for students and the system,
are not at all clear.
NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS
Federal support for SAIP: $1.5 million direct contribution
from HRDC (Human Resources Development Canada)
Provincial (shared) support for SAIP: $1.5 million “in the
form of human and material resources”
National Clearing House For Assessment Data: $100
million in 2003–04 for the establishment of the Canadian
Council on Learning
PROVINCIAL ASSESSMENTS (ONTARIO)
Grade 3 and 6 (reading, writing and math): $6 million/yr.
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
EXAMINING STANDARDIZED TESTING
students had failed to live up to the public’s expectations, but no
reporter questioned how these expectations were set. The public
might have been interested to learn that its views were generated
by 85 people invited by their respective ministers of education to
guess how well students should perform on tests that these judges
weren’t even allowed to see.
Robertson, Heather-Jane,. “Bogus Points” in Moll, Marita (ed), Passing the Test: The False Promises
of Standardized Testing, Ottawa, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2004
ONTARIO
In the 1996 Third International Mathematics and Science exam,
the Grade 8 test results, presented in graph form in a mailout to
every household, showed math and science results for the top 7 of
40 countries followed by the scores for Canada and Ontario
indicating the province ranked “the lowest of the low in lowly
Canada.” In reality, Canada ranked above average in both subjects
when compared with all 40 countries. Ontario’s math score was
one percentage point below the international average. Its science
score was two percentage points over the international mean.
Froese-Germain, B., (2001), Standardized Testing + High Stakes Decisions = Educational
Inequity, Interchange, 32(2), 111–30
In the 2002 Grade 10 literacy test, the provincial improvement of
8% pass rate (over the trial run administered in 2001) was a
travesty given that students knew the test would count and tried
hard and many schools had been drilling students on sample
questions. The passing grade was probably lower as well, but the
EQAO method of establishing the pass rate caused so much
confusion that no one was sure.
Lipman, Peter, “The Ontario Grade 10 Literacy Test and the Neo-conservative Agenda” in Moll,
Marita (ed), Passing the Test: The False Promises of Standardized Testing, Ottawa, Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives, 2004
Is There Any Merit in Merit Pay?
Imported from the US, where it continues to fail as a useful
system for teacher remuneration, performance-related pay (PRP)
is a tool that flows logically from the current mania for
measurement activities. “It’s ironic that the system of connecting
teacher pay to test results…led to the founding of the NUT 100
years ago,” says Tony Brockman, President of the National
Union of Teachers, the largest teacher union in the UK.
Research and practice have continuously found PRP systems to
be counterproductive and even destructive. “One of the real
impacts of a system that bases pay increases on student
performance is that teachers of disadvantaged students are
rarely eligible for such increases,” he noted.
As a result of intensive lobbying and a court challenge, the NUT
achieved important improvements to the original proposal
including additional funding, a set of appeal mechanisms and a
review of the entire process in 2002. In the meantime, NUT is
developing an alternative that would connect teacher pay
increases to the identification of professional development needs
and the accreditation of enhanced qualifications. –Marita Moll
This article is excerpted from Passing the Test; The False Promises of Standardized Testing.
Marita Moll, editor. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2004. See www.maritamoll.ca for
more articles and order information.
A Ten Step Alternative to High Stakes Testing
1. Eliminate the Grade 10 literacy test as a graduation
requirement; replace it with ongoing evaluations and
appropriate remedial assistance.
2. Use random standardized testing in certain subjects, grades
and schools, followed by an analysis of the test results and
intervention to improve areas of weakness before testing again.
3. Provide time and resources to ensure that all students have
success in school.
Grade 9 (math assessment):$6 million/yr.
Grade 10 (literacy test): $15 million/yr.
Cost of running Education Quality Assessment
Office (EQAO) which also administers TIMSS
and SAIP: approx. $20 million/yr.
Estimates of total cost vary from $50 million
to $59 million each year
Provincial plans (currently on hold) call for more
testing to be phased in to the point where there
are exams in two core subjects per year from
Grade 3 to Grade 11
In June 2001, the Ontario Ministry of Education
estimated that a new expanded testing program
would cost $16 million annually, in addition to
the $33 million already spent testing Grades 3,
6, 9 and 10
Ontario directors have asked for a 3-year
moratorium on the expansion of the current
testing regime
Source: Standardized Testing in Canada, www.maritamoll.ca
4. Provide on-the-job training for teachers in curriculum
delivery and use of performance-based tests that measure not
just the ability to memorize facts but also the capacity for
original thinking, perseverance and social responsibility.
5. Support students at risk with full service school teams,
including counselling and support from educational assistants
and professional student services personnel.
6. Implement a consistent template for the content and
marking of Grade 12 examinations.
7. Implement a curriculum renewal cycle, beginning with a
systematic review and revision of each grade and course that
has been offered in the new Ontario curriculum.
8. Recognize the value of subject expertise by pilot testing
Grades 7 to 12 schools with qualified subject specialists.
9. Develop a self-evaluation process for schools and school
boards every five to seven years.
10. Measure and publicize accountability using a number of
indicators. The Education Quality Indicators Project (EQUIP)
collects data on nine indicators including school climate,
student achievement, education financing, community
characteristics and stakeholder satisfaction.
www.osstf.on.ca/www/issues/studentesting/tenstepalternative.html
SUMMER 2005 17
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
Testing the Limits
BY
PATRICIA McADIE
Standardized testing at the elementary level in Ontario began in 1997. This
is not the first time that we have had province-wide standardized tests, but
it is the first time that these tests have been used for such young students.
Grade 3 and 6 students are now
tested every year in reading,
writing, and mathematics.
Provincial standardized tests are
also given in Grade 9 mathematics and Grade 10 literacy.
Students must pass the Grade
10 literacy test in order to
graduate from secondary school.
Plans are under way to bring in
more standardized tests in
Grades 4 to 11 in other subject
areas. Currently, Prince Edward
Island is the only province that
does not administer provincial
exams at some level. Alberta,
Manitoba, New Brunswick,
Newfoundland, and Ontario all
have provincial tests for Grade 3
students. New Brunswick does
not report the results for individual students. British Columbia
starts testing at Grade 4 and
Saskatchewan begins at Grade
5. Saskatchewan’s testing is
only a sample of students and is
only reported at the provincial
level.
Is this what we want for our
students? For our teachers? For
public education? Do the results
provide any useful information
or help improve our education
system? The short answer is no.
This focus on standardized
testing and a rigid curriculum
that goes with it has changed
18 PEEL PASSAGES
the nature of public education
in Ontario and elsewhere, but
not for the better.
Some find standardized
tests as an indicator of the
success of our education system
appealing. Some parents feel
confident that the results of the
tests give an accurate picture of
the achievement of their child
and of the education system as a
whole. Regardless of where in
the province you may live, each
child gets the same test and
presumably is scored in the
same way. It also appears to
take the politics out of education by providing a so-called
objective measure of achievement. The disagreements
between teachers and the
government can be ignored – at
least when it comes to how well
their child is doing.
We have been told repeatedly by politicians, the media,
and those advocating for
privatization of education that
there is a crisis in education.
This crisis, they say, is the result
of an approach to education that
favoured child-centred policies
that did not teach the basics.
The claim is that Canada, and
particularly Ontario, has not
measured up on international
tests and students are graduat-
ing that cannot read or write
adequately.
With all these supposed
problems, standardized testing,
along with its partner, standardized curriculum, are portrayed
as the solution. Bring in the
tests, bring in the rigid standardized curriculum and then
we will have an education
system that meets the goal of
ensuring our society is ready for
the new global economy.
Policymakers like standardized testing. Robert Linn, a
specialist in education measurement, outlines this appeal:
They are relatively inexpensive, compared with reforms
such as reducing class size
or improving professional
development for teachers.
The testing can be externally mandated without
relying on substantive
changes in the classroom.
Testing changes can be
rapidly implemented –
“ within the term of office of
elected officials.”
Results are visible, especially when reported to the
media. “Poor results in the
beginning are desirable for
policymakers who want to
show they have had an
effect. Based on past
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
experience, policymakers
can reasonably expect
increases in scores in the
first few years of a program…with or without real
improvement in the broader
achievement constructs that
tests and achievements are
intended to measure. The
resulting overly rosy picture
that is painted by short-term
gains observed in most new
testing programs gives the
impression of improvement
right on schedule for the
next election” (Robert L.
Linn, “Assessments and
Accountability,” Educational
Researcher, March 2000,
Volume 29, Number 2,
4–16).
The news releases from the
Ontario Ministry of Education
are interesting to follow from
year to year. Before the new
curriculum was in place, the test
results were described as
reflecting the poor common
curriculum of the previous
government. Then the results on
the tests got
better, but
there was
room for
improvement. Each
year they are described as
getting better as a result of the
reforms in curriculum, testing,
the new standardized report
card, but they are never quite
good enough. More testing is
brought in and more reforms are
instituted.
The figures reported in the
news releases are most interesting. In 1997, 50 percent of
students in Grade 3 scored at
level 3 or above in reading. But
these students were using the
old curriculum, so the results
were not good enough. The next
year, the Ministry of Education
news release states that 42
percent score at level 3; it states
that only 34 percent scored at
this level in 1997. What the
release fails to mention, however, is the percentage of
students scoring at level 4 in
both years – 16 percent in 1997
and four percent in 1998. The
total of level 3 and 4, which is
the usual measure, is then 50
percent for 1997 but only 46
percent for 1998. This is a
significant drop in scores when
students go from the old
curriculum to the new “improved” curriculum. Maybe it
takes more time to get used to
the new material.
In 1999, the news release
says there was a 13 percent
increase in mathematics scores,
but only states that the reading
results were similar to the
previous year. In fact, there was
a one percent decline in reading
scores. The news release for the
with the old curriculum. We
have gone full circle. It took
four years with the new curriculum to achieve the same level as
with the old curriculum. Do
these news releases sound like
political messages, rather than
reporting the results? Depending on the political agenda, the
reports vary. The Ministry of
Education news releases can be
found on their website at
www.edu.gov.on.ca. The EQAO
reports can be found at
www.eqao.com.
The latest example of
reporting the data to fit a
political agenda is for the
Ontario Grade 10 literacy test.
Students first wrote the test in
2000. The results from the first
year did not count and the
students knew that. Beginning
with the 2001–02 year, students
must pass the test in order to
graduate from high school. The
results from the second year
were reported as 75 percent
passing, compared with 68
percent in the first year. EQAO
has always reported results
The tests represent a distinct shift in focus from learning
to performing , from thinking to performing or responding.
2000 results gives no numbers
for any of the results. In 2001,
the news release reports figures
for Grade 3 mathematics (up
from 43 percent in 1998 to 61
percent, both numbers the same
as reported by EQAO), but no
other Grade 3 results are
reported. For Grade 3 reading,
the actual results show a small
increase. In fact, by 2001, Grade
3 students are now performing
at the same level as they were
using Method 1, which includes
all students in the cohort,
whether or not they actually
took the test until now. For the
first time, they have switched to
Method 2, which includes only
those students who actually
wrote the test. Under Method 1,
69 percent passed the test this
year, compared with 61 percent
last year. It appears that 75
percent sounds more acceptable
than 69 percent. It remains to be
SUMMER 2005 19
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
seen whether Method 2 will be
used to report test results from
now on.
There are a growing number
of books and countless articles
and monographs pointing out
various problems with standardized testing. See, for example,
Alfie Kohn, The Case Against
Standardized Testing, 2000; W.
James Popham, The Truth About
does not include other Ministry
costs or district school board
cost associated with preparation, administration and followup of the tests. It does not
include the time spent in class
preparing for the tests and
administering the tests. It does
not include the time spent at the
school or the school board on
various aspects of the tests. This
questions are becoming more
abundant. They do not allow for
creativity, for differences, for
explanations or for more than
one right answer.
“If one mousetrap catches
one mouse everyday,” she reads
slowly, “and two mousetraps
catch four mice, and three
mouse traps catch nine mice,
and four traps get sixteen mice,
then how
many traps
will be
needed to
catch
twenty-five
mice?” How many traps then,
Jiri?” asks the teacher.
Jiri smiles. His glasses are
filthy. His whiskers shine.
“One,” he says. “Of course, you
would need almost a month.” (p.
75–77, Of Mice and Nutcrackers: A Peeler Christmas, by
Richard Scrimger, Tundra
Books, Toronto, 2001). How
would this response be scored?
Standardized tests do not
improve student learning, but
they do help to separate the
winners from the losers.
Bringing these tests into the
elementary level ensures that
young children are initiated into
the competitive world of markets and meritocracy. Lisa
Graham Keegan, Arizona
Superintendent of Education
and an advocate of standardized
testing, refers to “gatekeeper
skills” (PBS Online Focus,
School Testing, Feb. 15, 2001,
www.pbs.org). In other words,
not everyone should be allowed
to pass through the gate, to
pass, to succeed. You can’t have
winners if you don’t have losers.
“Such tests do not measure
creativity, judgment, persis-
Accountability is not the same as testing. Accountability
should be a measure of the purpose we hold for school.
Testing, 2001; Bernie FroeseGermain, Standardized Testing:
Undermining Equity in
Education, 1999; FairTest
website www.fairtest.org. Yet we
continue adding more tests,
publishing the results in
newspapers, checking the
rankings, comparing one
school, board, province or
country with another. We have
more than enough evidence that
such tests are inappropriate and
even damaging. So why do we
continue with them?
Because the people that are
making the decisions don’t
really care about the research.
They are concerned with
promoting a different agenda,
one that values markets, profits
and social stratification. The
results are presented to support
the arguments.
The annual budget for the
Education Quality and
Accountability Office (EQAO) in
Ontario is about $50 million.
They administer the provincial
Grade 3, 6 and 9 tests, the
Grade 10 literacy tests, the
national SAIP and the international TIMSS tests. This cost
20 PEEL PASSAGES
is a huge investment for something with a very questionable
return.
And this does not include
the costs of the growing test
preparation companies. For $10,
you can buy Help Your Child
Prepare for Ontario Grade 3
Language Tests or Help Your
Child Prepare for Ontario Grade
6 Mathematics Tests or Helping
Your Child Prepare for Ontario
Grade 3 Mathematics Tests. You
can enrol your child at Sylvan
for a few hundred dollars. You
can hire a private tutor for
hundreds of dollars per year. It
is estimated that the tutoring
and test preparation industry is
worth close to $4 billion (“The
Education Industry Reports.
Pre-K–12,” February 7, 2002,
eduventures.com).
The tests represent a
distinct shift in focus from
learning to performing, from
thinking to performing or
responding. Essay questions
must be answered with five
paragraphs. Short answer
questions must be no less than
three sentences and no more
than five. Multiple choice
EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
tence, higher-order thinking,
stamina, motivation, imagination, determination, sense of
craft or civic mindedness.” (G.
Bracy, A Lesson Plan for the
Schools With Little Learning
Behind It, Center for Education
Research, Analysis and
Innovation, Jan. 28, 2001). But
that is not the point of the tests.
The point seems to be to stratify
students.
Is there a legitimate reason
for trying to construct better
standardized tests? Some, such
as James Popham, (The Truth
About Testing: An Educator’s
Call to Action, 2001) argue that
you can develop fair, appropriate standardized tests that
would address accountability.
Others, such as Alfie Kohn (The
Case Against Standardized
Testing: Raising the Scores,
Ruining the Schools, 2000),
argue that no form of standardized testing is appropriate; to
address accountability, we
should look at more subjective
measures – observe you child’s
behaviour, visit the school, talk
with the teachers.
None of this means we
should not or cannot hold high
standards for students. “Having
high standards is not the same
as having common standards for
all, especially when they are
tied to a lock step of age or
grade level.” (Robert L. Linn,
“Assessments and
Accountability,” Educational
Researcher, March 2000,
Volume 29, Number 2, 4–16).
Teachers do expect the best from
their students. What Ontario’s
schools need are the resources
to be able to ensure a high
quality education system for all
students – lower class sizes,
particularly in the early grades,
more resources, more supports
for students and teachers, a full
range of programs.
And none of this means we
should not or cannot be
accountable. Accountability is
not the same as testing.
Accountability should be a
measure of the purpose we hold
for school. If we are interested
in democratic citizenship, then
look at voting rates, particularly
among young people, volunteering and participation in the
community, crime rates. If we
are concerned with social
efficiency, of educating our
future work force, then look at
students’ ability to take their
place in the workforce (not
unemployment levels, which
measure market factors, not the
ability of the workforce). If we
are interested in social mobility,
in perpetuating the meritocratic,
class-based society, then keep
the tests.
Public education is more
than just public ownership of
the schools. It should include
public control for the common
good, for a common purpose.
Public education should be the
responsibility of all of us, not
left for a handful of politicians. ÿ
Huh?
TESTS BREACH U.N. CONVENTION
Article 29 of the Human Rights Convention says that education should be “directed to the development of the child’s
personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.” A special reporter for the U.N. Human
Rights Commission has said that the case could be made that the British Government’s target-and-test regime is
against the convention because it is designed to meet government objectives, rather than the development of the
child. Katarina Tomasevsi told the Guardian: “Wherever testing is introduced…it tends to overwhelm the whole
design of education. Teachers have to teach to the test because that’s how children are evaluated and how teachers
are evaluated. The voice of children is missing.”
Our Schools Ourselves Vol.13, No.2 (issue 74) Winter 2004
SUMMER 2005 21
AROUND PEEL
A Look at Teacher
BY
MARINA WILLATS
Dan Rollings stood in front of the classroom bulletin board. It was typical of
what you would find in most classrooms: two countries drawn and labelled
in the familiar venn diagram with the title ‘Similarities and Differences.’
One side was England and the other side was Canada. In the differences
section, Dan read, “You can ski in Canada, but not after 5 p.m. because
you may be attacked by wild boars.”
Dan chuckled. He and his
colleague, Lynne Burnett, are
Canadian guests in this classroom and the English students
hope to hear first-hand accounts
of these savage attacks.
Lynn, 29 and Dan, 26,
arrived in London, England just
before the beginning of the
March break, chosen to represent their school in a teacher
exchange. They planned to
spend their time observing
teaching practices and delivering a few lessons on Canadian
history. Unfortunately, they had
not planned any lessons on how
to survive a wild boar attack.
After their six-hour flight,
they took a three-hour-long bus
ride to Somerset to meet their
hosts, Kate and Coralie, who
would travel to Dan and Lynne’s
school, Huttonville PS two
weeks later. During their stay,
Dan bunked in the town of
Willeton at the house of an
educator assistant while Lynne
stayed in the country at
Coralie’s cosy thatched annexe.
Their time would be spent at
Danesfield Academy, a school
which has forged a close
relationship with Lynne and
Dan’s home school.
Last spring, Huttonville’s
principal, Mary Jane Hardy,
traded places with the headmaster of Danesfield. “The
exchange is a great professional
development opportunity for
administration and staff at both
schools,” says Hardy. “It allows
us to learn from each other and
apply that knowledge in our
own schools.”
Both administrators decided
to encourage staff to take
advantage of the partnership
and consider applying for the
exchange. For Lynne, it was
more than just a P.D. opportunity. “My parents are both from
Somerset. They came to Canada
soon after they married.” If her
parents had stayed in Somerset,
Lynne would have likely
attended a school much like
Danesfield. It was a chance for
her to see a different side of her
history and to connect with the
family members who remained
in Somerset.
WHAT DO LYNNE AND DAN SAY ABOUT DANESFIELD?
They observed the set-up of ability groupings which vary from subject to subject; they felt the
organization of the groups really empowered the students. Lynne plans on studying England’s
National Standards Curriculum to compare and find links to our Provincial Curriculum.
22 PEEL PASSAGES
EXCHANGES
After Dan and Lynne settled
into their respective ‘homes’
and used the weekend to reset
their internal clocks, they were
ready to face their new students.
Dan started his day with what
he called a traditional English
breakfast – coffee, burnt toast,
marmalade and cereal – while
Lynne had a gentler start to the
day with a cup of tea delivered
to her room. “It was the best tea
I’ve ever had,” exclaimed
Lynne. Once they arrived, they
found that school couldn’t be
more typically British, in fact,
much like a popular children’s
novel, minus the magic. The
students wore uniforms – not a
glint of jewelry in sight – and,
without an intercom, gather
daily in the gym to hear the
announcements. “It’s like Harry
Potter,” commented Dan. “The
students sit in their assigned
houses named after the historical families of Somerset.” Kate
is the staff leader of the Luttrel
house. The earliest known
Luttrell was Sir Geoffrey, aid to
King John, who joined his
rebellion against Richard the
First. “I was constantly struck
by the history of the surroundings which seemed so commonplace to them,” says Dan. Lynne
adds, “I was impressed by the
behaviour exhibited by the
students. Sure they chatted as
they walked toward the gym but
as soon as they entered, they
became silent and respectful.
You could hear a pin drop.”
As the students made their way
to their classrooms, Dan and
Lynne expected to face students
waiting to listen attentively. But
they soon realized students are
much the same across the pond.
“The students were attentive as
long as our history lesson
appealed to the interests of 12year-old boys – blood, guts and
war.” But the real fun started
when the students posed their
own questions: In Canada, do
you all drive dog sleds? Are all
you police dressed like Mounties? Do you have houses? Do you
have cars? This same question
would be directed at Coralie
when she stood in front of the
Canadian students.
Dan and Lynne’s day ended
much like back home, though
the teachers gathered at the
local pub where they talked
shop with the staff over fish ’n’
chips and ale. Plenty of ale. Dan
and Lynne spent the rest of their
days observing classes at
Danesfield, which houses
Grades 4–8, and the feeder
school, Knight’s Templar. When
they were not in the school, they
visited Plymouth, Dartmouth
and Lindton. They were constantly in awe of the juxtaposition of the historical and
modern-day conveniences;
though refreshingly, not a mall
in sight.
Dan and Lynne ended their
trip with a desire to continue
their connection to Danesfield,
possibly by creating student ‘epals.’ And one last trip to the
pub. As a special treat, Lynne’s
uncle brought his group, The
Morris Men, to send them off
with some traditional songs. As
the fire roared and the band
played, Lynne and Dan danced
the night away with their new
friends. ÿ
WHAT DO KATE AND CORALIE SAY ABOUT HUTTONVILLE?
They were impressed with the relaxed nature of the teachers; they felt the teachers had a much better rapport
with the students and are not as rigid as the English teachers. They were interested in gaining more information on how we integrate our special needs students. In England they are slowly moving in that direction.
SUMMER 2005 23
AROUND PEEL
Book Reviews
TEACHING GREEN:
THE ELEMENTARY
YEARS
Tim Grant and Gail Littlejohn
Subtitled “Hands-on Learning
in Grades K–5,” this 240-page,
large-format paperback contains
over 50 of the best teaching
strategies and activities contributed to the non-profit Green
Teacher magazine during the
past decade. Almost all were
updated and revised for this
special 2005 anthology. As in
their 2004 book, Teaching
Green: The Middle Years (for
Grades 6–8), Toronto editors Tim
Grant and Gail Littlejohn have
assembled a wealth of kidtested ideas contributed by
educators from across North
America, covering a wide
spectrum of environmental
topics and presenting a large
24 PEEL PASSAGES
diversity of practical projects
and learning strategies.
In the “Approaches to
Learning” section, readers will
find innovative ideas for
exploring the natural world,
promoting environmental
citizenship and integrated
project-based learning, along
with opportunities for taking
action and practising authentic
democracy. A particularly
interesting article is “Guiding
Your School Toward Environmental Literacy,” which outlines
a step-by-step, whole-school
approach used successfully by
dozens of Calgary schools over
the past decade to evaluate
what a school is already doing
and then develop a workable
plan.
In “Exploring Nature
Around Us,” the largest section
of the book, a Grade 1 teacher
describes taking her class on an
overnight trip; a naturalist
suggests ways to get the most
out of a pond study; an article
titled “The Numbered Forest”
gives ides for incorporating
schoolyard trees into mathematics lessons. One author
describes how observing
patterns in nature – such as the
nest-building behaviour of
squirrels – can help students to
discover basic concepts of
ecology. Two others discuss the
use of creative journals as a
springboard to fresh insights
and discoveries about the
natural world.
The “Plants and Animals”
section includes activities for
studying forests and monarch
butterflies, as well as a “Great
Lakes Food Web Drama” and
instructions for creating a
tropical rainforest simulation in
a school gym. One of the most
compelling articles looks at the
research showing that having
animals in the classroom
contributes both to learning and
to the development of empathy
and respect for all living
creatures. Included are useful
guidelines for animal care and
recommendations on the most
appropriate classroom pets.
While the book focuses on
helping kids develop a strong
connection with the natural
world, there are many articles
that focus on the social and
global aspects of our environment. For example, readers will
find activities for promoting
global awareness in Kindergarten, ideas for organizing a
school-wide Development Days
theme, and a recipe for baking a
“One World Cake” to help
students understand how food
links us to people and places
around the world. One section
describes a variety of projects to
link school and community,
such as creating community
green maps and building
watershed models that educate
AROUND PEEL
the community about local
threats to water quality. The
final presents ideas for exploring the environment through
literature, imagination and
celebration.
The book is attractively
designed and organized, and,
for each article and activity, the
editors have identified appropriate grade levels, subject areas,
key concepts, skills and materials. One other teacher-friendly
detail is the practical “lay-flat”
binding. The hands-on projects
and learning strategies in
Teaching Green: The Elementary
Years are sure to inspire all
educators who are seeking
innovative ideas for incorporating green themes into their
programs.
For more information, or to
order a copy for $27.95, contact:
Green Teacher
95 Robert St.
Toronto, ON M5S 2K5
(416) 960-1244
(888) 804-1486
www.greenteacher.com
THE PROFESSOR
AND THE MADMAN
Simon Winchester
sus·pense n.
1. The condition of being
uncertain about an outcome or
decision.
2. A feeling of anxiety or
excitement resulting from such
uncertainty.
3. Producing a pleasant excitement.
Who knew? Simon Winchester
eloquently crafts a biography of
the main players involved in the
making of the Oxford English
Dictionary – an undertaking
that began in 1857 and took 70
years to complete. It is a social
and intellectual history which
throws light on the deep
connection between madness
and genius. Along with plenty
of interesting details, which you
can casually throw out at your
next Trivial Pursuit game, he
also keeps you pleasantly
excited as you make your way to
the “I didn’t see that coming”
climax.
This is not a newly released
novel, but a relatively undiscovered one. It’s just a wonderful
story.
Marina Willats
War, prostitutes, murder,
madness…and the dictionary?
Huh?
AFFLUENT PARENT INDEX
California ranks all of its schools on Academic Performance Index (API) that is available on a web site. This has
become a driver for real estate prices as buyers look for houses in areas with high API scores, with the scores
affecting prices by as much as 20 percent. Because the test scores are largely correlated with socio-econimic status,
some educators call the API the “affluent parent index.”
Our Schools Ourselves Vol.14, No.2 (issue 78) Winter 2005
SUMMER 2005 25
AROUND PEEL
Writers
Wanted!
The Peel Passages
Editing Team is looking
for contributions to be
considered for the next
edition of the paper.
Submit your articles to Kurt Uriarte
What can you contribute?
Staff Lines
Share with your colleagues the comings and goings
at your school; celebrations, exciting events and
special announcements.
Quality Teaching, Quality Program
A great chance to celebrate the excellence that goes
on in your classroom or the classroom of a colleague
that you admire.
Book / Resource Review
Read a good book lately? Have you found a resource
that you like? Write up a summary of a new resource
or book you have found helpful or enjoyable and
perhaps add tips to integrate the ideas covered by
the resource into the classroom.
Editorials / Letters to the Editor
What education issues matter to you? Share your
feelings and insight.
kurtu@etfopeel.com
All submissions will be considered for inclusion by the editing team.
the Pride Committee of Peel presents the second annual
PRIDE DAY PICNIC IN PEEL
when
Saturday, July 16
Noon to 4:00 p.m.
where
Heart Lake
Conservation Area
Food available for purchase from Peel HIV/AIDS Network
Come and help us celebrate! Prizes, Draws, Games, FUN!
For more information contact Jen Colborne · jen.colborne@peelsb.com
26 PEEL PASSAGES
AROUND PEEL
PETL Anti-Racism/Equity Committee invites you to
MARCH WITH PRIDE
when
Sunday, June 26
at 1:30 p.m.
where
Southeast corner of
Bloor St. and Church St.
Marching in the Pride Parade sends a powerful message to our LGBT colleagues,
students and their families that they are safe in our schools. What better way to end
a year of hard work but with the cheers and thanks of the communities we inspire?
For more information contact Jen Colborne · jen.colborne@peelsb.com
Parking and a mileage allowance or GO Train fares will be paid for by PETL for those who march with ETFO. Keep your tickets/parking receipts and see Jen at the marshalling area for your claim form.
SUMMER 2005 27
THE LONG AND
WINDING ROAD
CONTINUED
FROM
PAGE
4
recommended to school councils
the creation of a College of Teachers, the creation of EQAO and
mandatory testing.
In June of that year, the Progressive Conservatives led by Mike
Harris won the provincial election.
In November, the government
slashed $500 million from education funding. In 1996, the government repealed the Employment
Equity Act. In addition, the Harris
government passed the Education
Quality and Accountability Office
Act, which established EQAO and
introduced standardized assessment across the grades. In addition,
the Act established a college of
teachers made up of teachers and
government appointees and
included disciplinary procedures.
In 1997, Bill 104, the Fewer
School Boards Act, altered the
system of education governance by
reducing the number of school
boards from 129 to 72; 31 of them
public district school boards. On
August 17 of that year, officers of
FWTAO and OPSTF signed the
application for incorporation of a
new federation – ETFO. In October,
the government introduced Bill 160,
the Education Equality Improvement
Act, and 126,000 teachers left their
schools for two weeks in protest.
In 1998, I was elected to the
position of Second Vice President of
the Peel Local. During my first year
in the Local office, changes to
education continued to be made by
an unsympathetic government. Bill
160 was implemented; principals
and vice-principals were removed
from the federations but occasional
teachers were added; class size and
preparation time were regulated in
legislation; the province took
control of funding.
In 1999, the Tories were reelected and continued their assault
on the public education system. Bill
28 PEEL PASSAGES
74, the Education Accountability
Act, passed – although the provision
making extra-curricular activities
mandatory was never proclaimed.
Bill 81, the Safe Schools Act,
established criminal record checks,
introduced a student code of
conduct and downloaded student
suspensions to teachers. Bill 80, the
Stability and Excellence in Education Act, 2001, introduced teacher
professional learning and
recertification, and required that all
new collective agreements have
three-year terms. ETFO responded
with its ‘Accountability Yes/
Recertification No’ proposal and
creative bargaining strategies.
Lastly, Bill 110, the Quality in the
Classroom Act, 2001, established an
entry-to the-profession test and a
provincial performance appraisal
model.
In September 2003, I began my
first term as President of the Peel
Local. There were elections at all
levels of government: provincial,
municipal and federal.
On October 2, 2003, after eight
years of destructive power, the
Conservatives were defeated by the
Liberals, who campaigned on a
platform of education improvement.
The federation has continued to
press for changes to the regressive
legislation passed by the Conservative government. Although the
battle must continue, the Liberal
government has made some
positive changes which demonstrate increased commitment to
public education.
It is through continued action
by the Federation and its members
that the battle will be won. After 33
years in the profession, it is time for
me to step aside. I am confident in
the ability of the leadership and
members of the Local to carry on
the fight.
It has been an eventful ride,
and I have enjoyed every minute. ÿ
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
CONTINUED
FROM
PAGE
12
full expulsion comes only after an
expulsion hearing. If a student is
fully expelled, they can’t attend any
publicly funded school in Ontario
until after they have attended a
Strict-Discipline Program or an
equivalent program.
The Ministry of Education’s
Violence-Free Schools Policy 1994
requires a Violent Incident Form to
be completed and filed in the OSR
if a student is suspended or
expelled for violent reasons. This is
not always being done. As a result
the reader of an OSR does not
always have a complete picture of a
student’s behaviour and the
resulting risk. Staff Development
and Student Support Services has
assured me that future improvements to the SIS system will make
completion of such forms a component of generating a suspension
letter. These forms remain in the
OSR for a minimum of three years.
If you feel that a violent situation is not being remedied appropriately, please contact the Peel
ETFO office.
The Ministry of Education’s
Violence-Free Schools Policy can be
viewed at: www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/
document/policy/vfreeng.html ÿ
Doug Hitchcock
ETFO Occupational Health and
Safety Teacher Advisor
Tel: (905) 890-1010 ext. 2686
Pager: (416) 370-5927
Fax: (905) 890-8893
NOTES
*The expulsion/suspension of a pupil is not
mandatory if:
(a) the pupil does not have the ability to
control his or her behaviour;
(b) the pupil does not have the ability to
understand the foreseeable consequences
of his or her behaviour; or
(c) the pupil’s continuing presence in the
school does not create an unacceptable risk
to the safety of any person.
O. Reg. 37/01, s. 2. Reg. 106/01, s. 1.
Members are reminded that the delegates at the 2001 Annual Meeting
passed the following motion:
“That ETFO encourage members not to participate in any EQAO marking
exercises.”
Delegates informed the Annual Meeting that the results of these
assessments have been misused to undermine the teaching profession
and denigrate the success of students in Ontario. If teachers participate
in the marking of these assessments, they may be perceived as
condoning and supporting the inappropriate use of assessment results.
EQAO has been granted “provider” status by the Ontario College of
Teachers. The EQAO has applied for accreditation of one or more
marking processes under the Professional Learning Program. Therefore,
by marking, a member would be supporting the government’s
recertification legislation.
The ETFO position Accountability Yes/Recertification No advises members
to avoid taking any professional development from providers accredited
by the Ontario College of Teachers under the Professional Learning
Program.
Members are advised:
•Not to participate in any EQAO marking exercise
September 1, 2003
480 University Avenue, Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1V2
Telephone: 416-962-3836 Toll-free: 1-888-838-3836
Fax: 416-642-2424 Website: www.etfo.ca
Your resolve made
the difference.
Working together,
anything is possible.