{"id":47454,"date":"2019-04-10T12:47:48","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T19:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=47454"},"modified":"2019-04-10T12:47:48","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T19:47:48","slug":"testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nLarge-scale testing, or what many know as standardized testing, often carries important consequences for students. The results of large-scale tests may be used by schools or policy-makers to make important decisions\u00a0such as grouping students by ability or assessing how well schools are doing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet when it comes to literacy testing,\u00a0while the competencies of literacy have changed in our digital, globalized world<\/a>, the methods that many educational systems use to assess literacy have not.<\/p>\n

One recent analysis of standardized tests in the United States, for example, found tests haven\u2019t changed much over the last 100 years: tests are\u00a0mostly multiple choice, with questions geared toward assessing skills like vocabulary, recall and comprehension<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Canada today, on such large-scale standardized tests, students are\u00a0likely to read a passage and answer a series of multiple-choice questions<\/a>. Students might have an opportunity to write a short answer or essay response. Provincial tests, for the most part, continue to prioritize measuring traditional literacy skills of reading and writing with answers primarily communicated via pencil-to-paper. Such a testing structure forms the basis for public accountability in many provinces.<\/p>\n

Across Canada, researchers and educators have documented the need\u00a0to transform how the provinces assess literacy<\/a>\u00a0and consider more innovative designs. Testing should accurately capture what children are learning\u00a0without detracting from authentic teaching and learning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What literacy means today<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Formerly, literacy was broadly understood to encompass four domains: reading, writing, speaking and listening. But today, how we define literacy has changed.<\/p>\n

Firstly, literacy is now understood to involve skills and knowledge related to all modes of visual representation and digital communications. Today\u2019s students tend to read shorter texts within a variety of platforms on social media, websites and apps. Schools now teach literacy through visual, moving image and even sound-based texts that children and teenagers encounter when reading and writing online.
\n

\"\"

Pencil-to-paper tests won\u2019t capture the full range of competencies involved with literacy today. (Shutterstock)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Secondly, literacy today is also understood to be about\u00a0how students can use knowledge and skills related to personal and citizen engagement and agency<\/a>. According to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), literacy involves the\u00a0\u201ccapacity for social awareness and critical reflection as a basis for personal and social change<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

These forms of literacy teaching and learning \u2014 both multimedia literacy related to varied forms of representation\u00a0and expression<\/a>\u00a0and applied literacy \u2014\u00a0are called multiliteracies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Large-scale literacy testing needs to keep pace with how the skills related to these concepts are practised in classooms, assessed by teachers and mandated by provincial curriculum.<\/p>\n

Overall, curriculum is increasingly emphasizing\u00a0a more holistic concept of literacy development<\/a>.\u00a0The English curriculum in Ontario<\/a>acknowledges students\u2019 literacy development is not understood solely as reading and writing.\u00a0B.C<\/a>\u00a0and Alberta<\/a>\u00a0similarly recognize the changing nature of literacy.<\/p>\n

Revamping large-scale testing for the 21st century<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The need to\u00a0reconsider large-scale testing formats<\/a>\u00a0was recently acknowledged by\u00a0Andreas Schleicher<\/a>, director for the directorate of education and skills for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) \u2014 the organization that administers the most prominent cross-comparative test in the world,\u00a0the Programme for International Student Assessment <\/a>\u00a0(PISA). He recently\u00a0said PISA is trying to move away from multiple choice to have more adaptive, engaging formats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Singapore \u2014\u00a0the country that performs highest in PISA global tests<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the minister of education recently announced a\u00a0reduction in testing for students to better balance rigour and \u201cthe joy of learning<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

When we understand literacy to also be about developing adaptive and connective\u00a0skills in our rapidly changing world<\/a>, we can see that such decisions to transform assessment are not potentially downplaying literacy, but rather, potentially enhancing it.<\/p>\n

In Canada, assessment reforms and innovations are slowly taking shape. For example, British Columbia\u00a0revised its Foundational Skills Assessments in 2018 to include collaboration and self-reflection<\/a>. Alberta also made changes to large-scale provincial achievement tests to focus on\u00a0assessment for<\/em> learning rather than assessment of<\/em> learning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And in Ontario, a 2018 report to the premier recommended\u00a0replacing the Ontario secondary school literacy test<\/a>, now a graduation requirement. Researchers who conducted the review (including one of the authors of this story, Carol), as well as those invited to comment as assessment experts (Chris and Louis), made a number of other recommendations including integrating technology for large-scale asessment of students\u2019 learning and progress.<\/p>\n

If we are to support literacy skills for the 21st century then we must explore how large-scale testing might capture students\u2019 contemporary literacy competencies, and also how the testing itself might integrate contemporary practices and\u00a0understandings of literacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, computerized testing could allow for timely feedback that would close the gap between testing and feedback for learning. Right now, any curricular changes to address demonstrated gaps in learning are often communicated months after the large-scale test.<\/p>\n

We need to change how we assess literacy. Ministries of education have the expertise and capacity to modernize our assessment systems. We are hoping there is the political will to do so.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Louis Volante is Professor, Faculty of Education at Brock University, Carol Campbell is Associate Professor of Leadership and Educational Change, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, Christopher DeLuca is an Associate Professor in Classroom Assessment and Acting Associate Dean, Graduate Studies & Research, Faculty of Education at Queen’s University, Ontario, Jennifer Rowsell is Canada Research Chair in Multiliteracies and Lorenzo Cherubini is a Professor both at Brock University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Large-scale testing, or what many know as standardized testing, often carries important consequences for students. The results of large-scale tests may be used by schools or policy-makers to make important decisions\u00a0such as grouping students by ability or assessing how well schools are doing. Yet when it comes to literacy testing,\u00a0while the competencies of literacy have […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":47455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[8928],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-47454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-literacy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTesting literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Large-scale testing, or what many know as standardized testing, often carries important consequences for students. The results of large-scale tests may be used by schools or policy-makers to make important decisions\u00a0such as grouping students by ability or assessing how well schools are doing. Yet when it comes to literacy testing,\u00a0while the competencies of literacy have […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-10T19:47:48+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/test_banner.jpg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"680\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"131\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-10T19:47:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":917,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/test_banner.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"literacy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/\",\"name\":\"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/test_banner.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-10T19:47:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/test_banner.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/test_banner.jpg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":131},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"Large-scale testing, or what many know as standardized testing, often carries important consequences for students. The results of large-scale tests may be used by schools or policy-makers to make important decisions\u00a0such as grouping students by ability or assessing how well schools are doing. Yet when it comes to literacy testing,\u00a0while the competencies of literacy have […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2019-04-10T19:47:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":680,"height":131,"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/test_banner.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper","datePublished":"2019-04-10T19:47:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/"},"wordCount":917,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/test_banner.jpg","keywords":["literacy"],"articleSection":["Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/","name":"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/test_banner.jpg","datePublished":"2019-04-10T19:47:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/test_banner.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/test_banner.jpg","width":680,"height":131},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/testing-literacy-today-requires-more-than-a-pencil-and-paper\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47454"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=47454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}