Teachers' Perceptions of Large-Scale Assessment Programs Within Low-Stakes Accountability Frameworks

Abstract

The intent of this study was to examine the views of teachers regarding the appropriateness of the purposes and uses of the provincial assessments in Alberta and Ontario and the seriousness of the concerns raised about these assessments. These provinces represent educational jurisdictions that use large-scale assessments within a low-stakes accountability framework in which the results are intended to be used to support school-based improvement efforts. Despite being implemented at different times (1982–Alberta; 1996–Ontario), teachers in both provinces appear to hold relatively similar views about the testing programs in their own provinces and the issues associated with these programs. Teachers’ concerns regarding the use of these assessments for accountability purposes and the potential misuses of the results appear to be a dominant influence on teachers’ generally low ratings of other purposes and uses of the assessments in both provinces, including those related to improving instruction and learning.