VANCOUVER—Eight-in-10 parents of school-aged children in British Columbia support standardized testing to understand how their child and their child’s school are performing in reading, writing and mathematics, according to a new Leger poll commissioned for the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Parents in British Columbia overwhelmingly support standardized testing as a way of fairly and objectively measuring their child’s academic progress and the education their child is receiving, despite ongoing efforts by some groups to diminish or even eliminate testing,” said Paige MacPherson, associate director of education policy at the Fraser Institute and author of Strong Parental Support for Standardized Testing across Canada.
The poll surveyed 1,204 parents of school-aged children (ages 5-17) enrolled in public and independent schools across Canada. It finds that in B.C., overall support for standardized testing amongst parents was 80 per cent, with 43 per cent of parents strongly supporting standardized testing. Only 5 per cent strongly opposed it.
Nationwide, 84 per cent of parents surveyed support standardized testing, with support being highest among parents who were new to Canada, with 92 per cent of immigrant parents supporting testing.
“Advocacy opposing standardized testing long pre-dates the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in provinces such as B.C.,” said MacPherson.
“It is important for government policymakers and educators to understand how strongly parents value and support standardized testing for their children and their children’s schools, so that the province’s testing is prioritized and improved moving forward.”
Main Conclusions
- 95% of Canadian parents of K-12 children believe it is important to know their child’s academic performance in the core subjects by a fair and objective measure.
- 72% of Canadian parents express strong support for fair and objective student assessment.
- Support for fair and objective measurement of students’ academic proficiency was highest in British Columbia and Ontario.
- Only 1% of Canadian parents believe it is not at all important to know their child’s academic performance in the core subjects by a fair and objective measure.
- 84% of Canadian parents surveyed support standardized testing so they will understand how their children are doing in the core subjects of reading, writing, and mathematics.
- Support for standardized testing was highest in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.
- In every province or region of Canada, the largest share of parents of K-12 children strongly support standardized testing.
- Immigrant parents expressed the strongest levels of support for both standardized testing, and the fair and objective measurement of students’ academic success.
