An Effective and Critical History of Canada’s National Standardized Testing Program

Abstract

This dissertation explores Canada‟s national large-scale testing program, the School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP) and its successor, the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) using a methodology built on Foucault‟s theoretical concepts. The product of the research is a critical and effective history of the production of SAIP/PCAP within the Canadian social, political, and economic context. The study considers the work of Canadian scholars and commentators working in the field of largescale testing and the work of those working in aspects of education that are proximal to the field of interest. The research recognizes the key role of the investigator, the critical importance of investigator‟s proximity to the field, her struggles within the field; and it also recognizes the need of the investigator to step away from the obligation to argue a particular perspective. The study also explores standardized testing regimes operating in England and the United States as well as international testing programs to gather the effects of these correlative spaces on the Canadian experience. The outcomes of the research include the production of an understanding of how large-scale standardized testing was produced in Canada, its resultant effects of harmonization on curriculum, and the identification of possible research sites for further inquiry.