Grade Level of Achievement Data: Key Indicators for School-Based Decision-Makers

Abstract

The Alberta Department of Education (Alberta Education) piloted a more comprehensive approach to program evaluation by expanding the range of achievement data beyond external tests that typically inform system results data needs. Grade Level of Achievement (GLA) data reported to Alberta Education is a teacher’s judgment of academic progress for students in Grades 1–9. GLA is based on the learner outcomes in a subject area after a course for a specific grade level has been completed and reflects the results from the full range of teacher-developed classroom assessments over the entire school year. Triangulation of large-scale external provincial achievement test (PAT) data with teacher-generated classroom-based assessment grounded in clear curriculum standards provides opportunities to create more complete and informative models of student achievement. This chapter examines PAT and GLA data at the provincial level as a means to explore what we can discover when achievement data are considered in a more holistic and balanced context, and reflects on the implications for parallel analysis at the jurisdiction, school, and classroom levels.