Fairness of Standardized Assessments: Discrepancy between Provincial and Territorial Results

Abstract

This paper discussed the issue of unfairness due to the discrepancy in educational assessments among provinces and territories in Canada. An overview of all provincial and territorial assessments was illustrated and major assessment results are compared to provide an idea on how such discrepancy would be problematic. We argued that such non-uniformity of educational assessments is unfair to students, in which scores achieved by students of the same ability level may obtain different scores solely because of the province or territory they live in. It causes unfairness especially when students are competing for limited opportunities such as scholarships. The presence of such issue makes it difficult for students’ scores to be comparable within the nation. In the final section of this paper, recommendations on solutions were provided to address the unfairness issues for the benefit of students and other stakeholders who would be affected.