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Abstract
This study examines the impact of high-stakes, large-scale, standardized literacy testing on youth who have failed the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. Interviews with youth indicate that the unintended impact of high-stakes testing is more problematic than policy makers and educators may realize. In contrast to literacy policy's aims to help promote the "well-being" of all learners and "equity" within the educational system, youth attest to feeling "shame" and show further marginalization due to this testing mechanism. These findings suggest that it is necessary to broaden the dialogue about the impact of high-stakes standardized literacy testing and its effects.
Key Words: high-stakes standardized testing; literacy; equity; marginalized youth
Résumé
Cette étude examine l'impact des tests normalisés en littératie, à grande échelle et aux enjeux élevés, sur les jeunes qui ont échoué au Test provincial de compétences linguistiques. Les entretiens avec ces jeunes indiquent que l'impact involontaire des enjeux liés au test est plus problématique que les législateurs et les éducateurs ne peuvent se rendre compte. Contrairement aux objectifs de la politique en littératie pour aider à promouvoir le «bien-être» de tous les apprenants et l'«équité» dans le système éducatif, les jeunes témoignent d'un sentiment de «honte» et montrent une plus grande marginalisation due à ce système de test. Ces résultats suggèrent qu'il est nécessaire d'élargir le dialogue sur l'impact des enjeux élevés liés aux tests normalisés en littératie et leurs effets.
Mots clés: enjeux élevés des tests standardisés, littératie, équité, jeunesse marginalisée
Educational Policy, High-Stakes Standardized Testing and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
Introduction
Current educational policy practices reflect local and global pressures to have a "literate" workforce.1 Education reforms that target youth as a population in need of testing, monitoring, and improvement have emerged in Ontario, other Canadian provinces, and in other countries such as Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States (Lesko, 2001; Lipman, 2004; Te Riele, 2006; Thomson, 2002). High-stakes standardized tests "are increasingly seen as a means of raising academic standards, holding educators and students accountable for meeting those standards, and boosting public confidence in schools" (Heubert & Hauser, 1999, p. 1).
As part of its response to calls to hold educational systems accountable for producing literate youth and better equipped citizens, the Ontario government created...