Reading and Writing Achievement Standards

The reading and writing achievement standards by grade level are as follows:

• Grade Primary
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 8
• Grade 9

Background

The reading and writing achievement standards documents were developed by the Atlantic Provinces under the auspices of the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET).

The New Brunswick Department of Education had lead responsibility for the project, with input provided by the other provinces at defined points.

The first draft of the achievement standards was developed in consultation with teachers and personnel from school districts/boards.

Input from working groups of educators, the review of standards documents from various school districts/boards and provinces, provincial assessments, and the work of educators and researchers documented in professional resources were sources used to inform further drafts.

Final draft versions of the documents were made available for field tests/reviews throughout the Atlantic Provinces. The resulting feedback informed the published versions of the achievement standards.

Purpose

The achievement standards are intended to establish common expectations in reading and writing among Atlantic Canadian educators for students at the end of designated grade levels (entry at grad primary through grade nine).

The standards address the question―How well should students be able to read and write independently by the end of each grade level? – and are based on both the reading and viewing outcomes and the writing and representing outcomes within the 1998 Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curricula, Entry through Grade Nine. (See Appendix for outcomes alignment.)

The project directive focuses only on defining reading and writing achievement standards. However, not to be diminished is classroom instruction in the other language arts outcomes (i.e., those outcomes not addressed from the reading and viewing, the writing and representing, and the speaking and listening strands).

The standards provide reasonable end-of-grade expectations for reading and writing through descriptions of two levels of student achievement:

• The standard for appropriate achievement describes what a student who meets intended grade-level expectations of the learning outcomes must know and be able to do.
• The standard for strong achievement describes what a student who demonstrates a high level of performance in intended grade-level expectations of the learning outcomes must know and be able to do.

Fair Student Assessment Practices for Education in Canada

Download PDF  (Centre for Research in Applied Measurement and Evaluation [CRAME], University of Alberta)

The Principles for Fair Student Assessment Practices for Education in Canada contains a set of principles and related guidelines generally accepted by professional organizations as indicative of fair assessment practice within the Canadian educational context. 

Assessments depend on professional judgment; the principles and related guidelines presented in this document identify the issues to consider in exercising this professional judgment and in striving for the fair and equitable assessment of all students.