The Rights and Responsibility of Test Takers when Large-Scale Testing Is Used for Classroom Assessment

Oct 15, 2026

The research identifies conflicts in the rights and responsibilities of Grade 9 test takers when parts of a large-scale test are marked by teachers and used to compute students’ classroom marks. Teacher and student questionnaire data from a 2009–10 Grade 9 mathematics administration were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and teachers’ written comments were coded into themes. Findings were interpreted using a policy-and-theory framework, and potential solutions for the conflicts were proposed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Standards for test-taker rights and responsibilities

Multiple uses of large-scale test results

Potential conflicts when used for accountability and classroom marks

The Rights and Responsibility of Test Takers when Large-Scale Testing Is Used for Classroom Assessment Christina van Barneveld Lakehead University Karieann Brinson Lakehead University Abstract The purpose of this research was to identify conflicts in the rights and responsibility of Grade 9 test takers when some parts of a large-scale test are marked by teachers and used in the calculation of students’ class marks. Data from teachers’ questionnaires and students’ questionnaires from a 2009–10 administration of a large-scale test of Grade 9 mathematics were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Written comments by teachers were analyzed into themes. Results were interpreted using a framework comprised of a policy document and two theories that are relevant to large-scale testing: the rights and responsibility of test takers as documented in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA/APA/NCME/JCSEPT, 2014), expectancy-value theory of motivation, and theory regarding the developmental stage of students in Grade 9. Several conflicts were identified. Potential solutions to conflicts were presented. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 40:1 (2017)©2017 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Keywords: large-scale testing, motivation, adolescent development, standards, classroom assessment Résumé Cette recherche avait pour objectif d’identifier les conflits dans les droits et la responsabilité des élèves de 9e année qui sont soumis à des tests à grande échelle lorsque certaines sections de ces examens sont corrigées par des enseignants et qu’ils servent dans le calcul des notes des élèves. Des données tirées des questionnaires des enseignants et des questionnaires des élèves à la suite d’un test à grande échelle de mathématique de 9e année qu’on a fait passer en 2009-2010 ont été analysées à l’aide de la statistique descriptive. Les commentaires écrits des enseignants ont été analysés et regroupés par thème. Les résultats furent interprétés à la lumière d’un document de politique et de deux théories à propos des tests à grande échelle : les droits et la responsabilité des élèves tels qu’ils sont documentés dans The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA/APA/ NCME/JCSEPT, 2014), la théorie des attentes et de la valeur de la tâche et une théorie sur les stades de développement des élèves de 9e année. Plusieurs conflits ont été identifiés. Des solutions possibles sont présentées. Mots-clés : test à grande échelle, motivation, développement de l’adolescence, normes,évaluation des élèves Acknowledgement This research was funded by a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Standard Research Grant, and the data were provided by Ontario’s Education Quality Accountability Office (EQAO). The opinions presented in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SSHRC or EQAO. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 40:1 (2017) [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Introduction The rights and responsibility of test takers is a key issue in educational testing and there are specific standards that outline good quality testing practices. One well-known document is the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME], & Joint Committee on Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing [JCSEPT], 2014), hereafter referred to as the Standards. In the Standards, Standard 8.2 describes the rights oftest takers: “Test takers should be provided, in advance, as much information about the test, the testing process, the intended test use, test scoring criteria, testing policy and confidentiality protection as is consistent with obtaining valid responses

FAQs

What conflict does the study focus on for Grade 9 test takers?

The study examines conflicts in students’ rights and responsibilities when portions of a large-scale test are teacher-marked and used in calculating classroom marks.

How were the research data analyzed?

Teacher and student questionnaire data from the 2009–10 Grade 9 mathematics administration were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and teachers’ written comments were analyzed into themes.

What framework was used to interpret the results?

Results were interpreted using a framework combining a policy document and two theories: the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, expectancy-value motivation theory, and theory about Grade 9 students’ developmental stage.

Oct 15, 2026

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