Growing Success

Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools

Assessment, evaluation, and reporting for students in Grades 1 to 12 in Ontario schools is based on the policies and practices described in the Ministry of Education's document, Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools .

Assessment serves different purposes at different times: it may be used to find out what students already know and can do, help students to improve their learning, or find out how much they have learned.

The following table summarizes the purposes of assessment, the nature of assessment, and the different uses of assessment information as described in Growing Success on page 31:

Purpose of Assessment and Description
Purpose of Classroom Assessment	Description in Growing Success
Assessment for Learning	" Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there." (Assessment Reform Group, 2002, p. 2)
Assessment as Learning	"Assessment as learning focuses on the explicit fostering of students' capacity over time to be their own best assessors, but teachers need to start by presenting and modelling external, structured opportunities for students to assess themselves." (Western and Northern Canadian Protocol, p. 42)
Assessment of Learning	"Assessment of learning is the assessment that becomes public and results in statements or symbols about how well students are learning. It often contributes to pivotal decisions that will affect students' futures." (Western and Northern Canadian Protocol, p. 55)