The Impact of Teacher Attitudes and Beliefs about Large-Scale Assessment on the Use of Provincial Data for Instructional Change

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag

In the quest to improve measured educational outcomes, national governments across the OECD and beyond have instituted large-scale assessment (LSA) policies in public schools. Controversy often follows implementation, including uncertainties about test quality as psychometric measures, debates on how data should be used, effects of test-preparation and score inflation, and impacts of high-stakes testing on students. This paper examines how teacher attitudes toward collecting and using such data influence instructional change using qualitative and quantitative evidence from a Canadian provincial assessment study.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background and controversy

Research approach and data sources

Findings and implications

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | | | --- | --- | | Arizona State University | | | Volume 24 Number 109 October 24, 2016 ISSN 1068-2341 | | The Impact of Teacher Attitudes and Beliefs about LargeScale Assessment on the Use of Provincial Data for Instructional Change Derek T. Copp Good Spirit School Division Canada Citation: Copp, D. T. (2016) . The impact of teacher attitudes and beliefs about large-scale assessment on the use of provincial data for instructional change. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(109). [http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2522](http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2522) Abstract: In the quest to improve measured educational outcomes national governments across the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and beyond have instituted large-scale assessment (LSA) policies in their public schools. Controversy almost universally follows the implementation of such testing, related to such topics as: a) the uncertain quality of the tests themselves as psychometrics measures; b) the uses to which the data can and should be put; c) the unintended consequences of test-preparation activities and resulting score inflation; and d) the effects of high-stakes tests on students. Debates of this nature naturally involve and impact the attitudes and opinions of teachers related to their collection and use of these data. This paper examines the impact of these attitudes using both the qualitative and quantitative data from a large-scale research study on Canadian provincial assessment. Data were collected from nation-wide teacher surveys as well as interviews with teachers, administrators and district-level staff. Results show that teacher attitudes about these assessments are strongly correlated to classroomlevel instructional change. Three attitudinal factors have significant effects on teaching (to) the provincial curricula, yet none significantly affects the use of less constructive instructional strategies also known as ‘teaching to the test.’ Specifically, the belief that large-scale assessment data have more appropriate uses and the belief that these data could lead to school improvement were significant factors in facilitating change. The implications of these findings are profound in that large-scale assessment policy cannot succeed even by its own standards without more buy in from teaching professionals. Keywords: Teacher attitudes, teaching to the test, large-scale assessment, reactivity, Canadian provincial assessment, data-informed decision making El impacto de las actitudes y creencias de los profesores sobre la evaluación a granescala y el uso de los datos provinciales de cambios en la instrucción Resumen: Para mejorar los resultados educativos Organización de los gobiernos nacionales para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (OCDE) estableció la evaluación a gran escala de las políticas (LSA) en sus escuelas públicas. La controversia por lo general sigue estas pruebas debido a: a) la calidad incierta de las pruebas psicométricas como medidas; b) los usos previstos y deseados de los datos; c) las consecuencias no deseadas de las actividades de preparación de laprueba y la inflación resultante puntuación; y d) los efectos de las pruebas de gran importancia en los estudiantes. Estos debates afectan las actitudes y opiniones de los profesores sobre larecopilación y uso de estos datos. Este artículo examina el impacto de estas actitudes que utilizan tanto la cualitativa y cuantitativa de datos a partir de un estudio de investigación a granescala sobre la evaluación de cada provincia del Canadá . Los resultados muestran que las actitudes de los maestros acerca de estas evaluaciones están fuertemente correlacionados con el cambios deinstrucción en el aula. En concreto, la creencia de que los datos de evaluación tienen usos másapropiados y la creencia de que estos datos podrían conducir a

FAQs

What issue does the paper focus on regarding large-scale assessment?

It examines how teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about large-scale assessment affect the use of provincial data for instructional change.

What data sources were used in the study?

Nation-wide teacher surveys and interviews with teachers, administrators, and district-level staff were used.

What do the results suggest about teacher attitudes?

Teacher attitudes about large-scale assessments are strongly correlated with classroom-level instructional change, with specific attitudinal factors facilitating that change.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag