PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia

Primary or junior preservice training covers the full range of teaching subjects,including reading, which falls under the language section of the provincial elementarycurriculum. Teaching assignments are determined based on a teacher’s qualificationsand the needs of the school.All eligible new teachers participate in the New Teacher Induction Program. Thisprogram builds on and complements preservice education programs by providing anotherfull year of professional support, including orientation, mentoring, and professionaldevelopment in areas such as literacy and numeracy strategies, classroom management,and effective parent communication skills.Teacher In-service EducationTeachers graduate from their preservice teacher education program with initialqualifications and supplement these with Additional Qualification courses as practicingteachers. All qualifications are regulated by the college through a formal accreditationprocess. Once completed, they become a permanent part of a teacher’s certificate andare used by school boards to determine teaching assignments and salary placement.Elementary teachers can specialize in reading instruction by taking the three-part readingspecialist series of Additional Qualification courses available through Ontario facultiesof education.In Ontario, responsibility for regulating teachers’ professional development is sharedbetween the Ontario College of Teachers and the Ministry of Education. The college setsprofessional standards for teachers and provides for teachers’ ongoing learning throughits Professional Learning Framework, a framework of formal accredited AdditionalQualification courses and informal learning opportunities, programs, and activities suchas mentoring, research, networking, and curriculum development. Boards of educationand the teacher affiliates (teachers’ federations) are primary partners in developing,delivering, and monitoring professional development for teachers.The Ministry of Education provides funding to boards to cover six professionalactivity days per year. Two of the 6 days are required to be devoted to education prioritiesidentified by the ministry.PIRLS 2006 EncyclopediaExaminations and AssessmentsRegional ExaminationsIn 1996, Ontario established the Education Quality and Accountability Office to developand administer province-wide assessments based on the Ontario curriculum. Currently,assessments are administered annually to all students in grades 3 and 6 (reading, writing,and mathematics), grade 9 (mathematics), and grade 10 (Ontario Secondary SchoolLiteracy Test). To obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, all secondary studentsmust meet a graduation literacy requirement. Most students meet this requirement bypassing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. Students who fail this test mayretake it or enroll in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course. Students whoCanadaTIMSS & PIRLSInternational Study CenterLynch School of Education, Boston College 81