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Symbiotic Relationship Between Curriculum, Tyler Rationale, and EQAO Standardized Testing

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Abstract

This chapter investigates the philosophical origins of Ontario’s curriculum and assessment policy and practice arguing that there is a trilateral symbiotic relationship between the Ontario curriculum, the Tyler Rationale referring to the central questions Ralph Tyler identified as significant for effective curriculum development, and Education and Quality Accountability Office (EQAO) standardized testing. The roots of EQAO standardized testing are examined leading to its normalization as a tool to measure accountability in publicly funded schools beginning in 1996, where each year students in Grades 3, 6, 9, and 10 are assessed in numeracy and literacy using criterion-referenced standardized tests to provide the general public with an independent gauge of students’ learning and achievement. It is argued that this has contributed to the rise and normalization of quantifiable outcome-based education in Ontario.

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Correspondence to Ardavan Eizadirad .

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Eizadirad, A. (2019). Symbiotic Relationship Between Curriculum, Tyler Rationale, and EQAO Standardized Testing. In: Decolonizing Educational Assessment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27462-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27462-7_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-27461-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-27462-7

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