Educational assessment in Canada

This article describes the Canadian education system and provincial/territorial, national, and international large-scale assessment (LSA) programmes that currently operate within this large multicultural country.We highlight the policy implications of LSA programmes within Canada's 10 provinces and three northern territories, and how the country balances international pressures with the demand for independence in the educational practices of its distinct provinces and territories.The discussion outlines how the systematic use of performance information is institutionalised through two kinds of accountability, ethical-professional and economic-bureaucratic accountability. Brief history and background of CanadaCanada became a country in 1867 by confederation of four British North American colonies that comprised mainly English, French, and aboriginal peoples (also referred to as First Nations).Since this date, the Canadian population has grown from 3.4 million to approximately 34 million now.Canada's multicultural population primarily resides in urban and suburban centres within its 10 provinces and three northern territories.Geographically, Canada is a vast country spread over 9,984,670 square kilometres, making it the second largest country in the world, next to Russia.Occupying most of northern North America, its lands extend from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic Ocean to the east.It shares the longest undefended border in the world with the United States of America to the south.Politically, Canada is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen as the head of the state.Nevertheless, the Queen's legislative powers are severely limited and are largely figurative in nature.She primarily gives 'royal assent' to laws passed in the federal parliament through her representative the Governor General.Both public and private sectors of Canada conduct business in one of its two official languages -English and French. The Canadian education systemEducation is a provincial/territorial responsibility under the Canadian constitution.As a result, there is a great deal of diversity across provinces and territories in the specific structure and general organisation of elementary and secondary school systems.These differences reflect the unique culture, history, and geography that characterise particular provinces and territories.Table 1 provides a concise summary of the various provincial systems.Despite the differences across provinces and territories, some notable generalisations can be made about the Canadian education system.For example, most children attend