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O. Assessment – Criterion Referenced Testing

  1. The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association believes that while criterion referenced testing is a valid tool in assessing how well our students are achieving the outcomes of the authorized curriculum, it is but one of the many forms of student assessment and should not be the focus. [Nov/27/08] [JC Feb/09] [2009 BGM]
  1. No more than one criterion referenced test should be administered in any given year in any grade level. [Nov/27/08] [JC Feb/09] [2009 BGM]
  1. The results of criterion referenced testing should be used to measure student achievement but shall not be used to evaluate teacher performance and/or the success of individual schools.
  1. Teachers should be provided with the necessary professional development in the administration of criterion referenced testing and the interpretation of test results. [Nov/27/08] [JC Feb/09] [2009 BGM]
  1. The Department of Education should communicate to parents, school councils and other stakeholders the purposes of CRTs, how to interpret results and indicate how these results should and should not be used.
  1. Teachers should be involved in the development of CRTs. [Nov/27/08] [JC Feb/09] [2009 BGM] 
  1. The NLTA opposes any introduction of “high stakes” testing where results of tests are widely published, schools are compared and ranked, and teachers are held directly accountable for test results. [Apr/6-7/00] [JC Oct/00] [2001 BGM]

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