Effective Date: June 6, 2001
Responsibility: Supervisory Officers
1.0 Introduction
The Near North District School Board has made a determined effort to focus on the achievement of its mission “To educate learners to their fullest potential in preparation for life-long learning”. More specifically, the Board has created ENDS Policies that guide the organization in its work to ensure there will be a continuous and comprehensive focus on improving student learning. The ENDS Policies will be updated regularly and are in the policy section in the Governance Manual, located in each school and on the website.
2.0 Purpose
Having the ENDS Policies in place, is only the first step in a process which must be viewed as a continuum of steps that will be implemented in order to assess the organization’s success in improving student learning. The ENDS Policies are the catalysts for the development and implementation of curriculum support strategies and allocation of resources to support these strategies. These form the basis of the annual work plan that is led by Board and school administrative and curriculum support staff, in an effort to ensure school staff have the skills, knowledge and resources required to effectively implement the Ontario Curriculum at elementary and secondary school levels. As part of the accountability process, it is necessary to collect data that reflects how well our students are demonstrating the required expectations set by the Ministry of Education. This becomes necessary in order that the organization can accurately, use this information in a constructive manner to determine the overall effectiveness of programs and classroom practices, to target problem areas and to develop specific short and long-term strategies, within the resources available. This will allow for the adaptation of curriculum and instructional approaches to better meet the needs of students. To that end, the following guideline is provided to outline within the context of the associated legislation, how and with which audiences the ENDS monitoring data will be communicated.
3.0 Process
The process for collecting data is detailed in the Administrative Guideline: School Based Process for Data Collection for the ENDS Policies. This process will be reviewed annually and updated as determined appropriate.
4.0 Legislative Requirements
The Education Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Education Quality Improvement Act set out the general rules that District School Boards must follow regarding collection, retention, use and disclosure of student information. The Near North District School Board will without exception, adhere to this body of legislation as it pertains to individual student information and access to personal information of a student. This will only be permitted in accordance with this legislation. Otherwise the following legislation sets the expected standard:
A: The Education Act Section 266:
(2) Pupil Records Privileged. A record is privileged for the information and use of supervisory officers and the principal and the teachers of the school for the improvement of instruction of the pupil, and such record, (a) subject to subsections (2.1), (3) and (5), is not available to any other person; and (b) except for the purposes of subsection (5), is not admissible in evidence for any purpose in any trial, inquest, inquiry, examination, hearing or other proceeding, except to prove establishment, maintenance, retention or transfer of the record, without written permission of the parent or guardian of the pupil or, where the pupil is an adult, the written permission of the pupil.
(2.1) Information to medical officer of health. The principal of a school shall, upon request by the medical officer of health serving the area in which the school is located, give that medical officer of health the following information in respect of pupils enrolled in the school;
- The pupil’s name, address and telephone number.
- The pupil’s birth date.
- The name, address and telephone number of the pupil’s parent or guardian.
(3) Right of parent and pupil. A pupil, and his or her parent or guardian where the pupil is a minor, is entitled to examine the record of such pupil.
(5) Reference where disagreement. Where the principal refuses to comply with a request under subsection (4), the pupil parent or guardian who made the request may, in writing, require the principal to refer the request to the appropriate supervisory officer who shall either require the principal to comply with the request or submit the record and the request to a person designated by the Minister, and such person shall hold a hearing at which the principal and the person who made the request are the parties to the proceeding, and the person so designated shall, after the hearing decide the matter, and his or her decision is final and binding upon the parties to the proceeding is not available to any other person; and
B) The Education Act 266(10) Secrecy Re Contents.
Except as permitted under this section, every person shall preserve secrecy in respect of the content of a record that comes to the person’s knowledge in the course of his or her duties or employment, and no such person shall communicate any such knowledge to any other person except, a) as may be required in the performance of his or her duties; or b) with the written consent of the parent or guardian of a pupil where the pupil is a minor; or c) with the written consent of the pupil where the pupil is an adult.
C) The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Section 32:
An institution shall not disclose personal information in its custody or under its control except according to the exceptions outlined in Appendix A.
5.0 Reporting of Student Achievement Data
As required by BOARD POLICY GOVERNANCE PROCESS Policy GP#4 – Agenda Planning, Section 4, Appendix C, a monitoring report that focuses on the progress made towards achievement of the ENDS Policies, will be provided to the Board on an annual basis at its regular meeting in November. The reporting of student achievement will be presented in the following manner according to the availability of current data:
5.1 Context
Assessment results are only one piece of information about a school. Other types of information are necessary to set the context within which the system and schools are working, to be able to report to the Board, parents, students, school councils, staff, school communities and the public on factors affecting student progress, school progress and work towards student, school and Board growth. There are several pieces of information that will be provided, some annually and others as they are individually made available to the Board. The intention of this data collection process is to access as much relevant information as possible, and to ensure that the context is considered before conclusions are drawn.
The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is responsible for the Education Quality Indicators Program (EQUIP). EQUIP will be updated annually and will reflect profiles of schools, Boards and the province, and will include information that will complement and support the interpretation of assessment data reported by EQAO, the Board, the province, national and international assessment bodies. EQUIP promises to provide a comprehensive and readily understood picture of education in Ontario, ensure that student achievement is reported in the proper context and establish a sound basis for program improvement efforts. Categories of information will include:
- Community, Student and Family Demographics
- Education Financing
- Preparedness to Learn and Early Learning Support
- School Leadership
- School Climate
- Community-School Relationships
- Teaching and Learning Environment
- Perception and Satisfaction of the General Public, Parents, Students and
- Teachers
- Student Achievement
Additional information, as phased in by EQUIP will include:
- Safety in Schools
- School/Community Partnerships
- School Councils
- Professional Development
- Parental Involvement
- Curriculum
- Perception and Satisfaction with Education
- Graduates’/school leavers’ destinations
The Ontario Provincial Children’s Secretariat facilitates the development and collection of information according to an Early Development Indicators Program. This is specific to students in their Junior Kindergarten year, at 4 years of age. This information which is available every second year, reflects children’s readiness to learn when they enter school and provides information according to the following guidelines: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, communication skills and general knowledge.
Periodically other bodies provide assessment opportunities to students in Ontario as part of provincial, national or international assessment programs ie Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), School Achievement Indicators Project (SAIP) etc. As this information is available, it will also be part of the ENDS reporting process.
5.2 Board Data
Individual student achievement data will be collected annually by each school Principal, beginning in 2001, and ultimately forwarded to the central data location as outlined in the Administrative Guideline – School Based Process for Data Collection for the ENDS Policies. Data will be organized by one or more of the following: grade, credit or curriculum area defined by the Ontario Curriculum documents, specific group of students, on a system wide basis in order to reflect:
- Percentages of students at each grade /by credit that have demonstrated levels 1, 2, 3, and 4
- Percentages of credits successfully completed Grades 9 to OAC
- Percentages of students that leave school with a Certificate of Accomplishment, Certificate of Education, an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, an Ontario Academic Courses
- EQAO results at the Grade 3, 6, 9 and 10 levels
- The percentage of identified students who demonstrate mastery of skills as outlined in their Individual Education Plan
- The percentage of students at risk in their junior kindergarten year according to the First Steps assessment Administrative Guideline Page 5 of 7 Annual Reporting of Student Achievement - June 6, 2001 Our mission is to educate learners to their fullest potential in preparation for life-long learning.
- Percentage of students at risk in their grade two year according to the Grade 2 screening follow-up to the First Steps assessment
- Reading Recovery outcomes
- Attendance Records
- Suspension and Violent Incident Records
5.3 Analysis of Data
The first phase of analysis of data will be completed as follows:
A) Superintendent of Program (Elementary Schools), Curriculum and Special Education Coordinators will ensure that the following data is compiled in an understandable format:
- Term and final report card marks for students Grades 1 to 8
- Grade 3 and 6 EQAO test results • First Steps Screening Data • Grade 2 Screening Data
- Mastery of skills as outlined in the Individual Education Plan of students
- Absences
- Suspensions/Violent Reports
B) Teacher Leader/Curriculum Coordinator will ensure that:
- Reading Recovery Data is available
C) Superintendent of Program (Secondary Schools), Manager of Information Technology, Curriculum and Special Education Coordinators will ensure that secondary student data is compiled regarding the following:
- Credit accumulation
- Diploma Requirements ie Community Service Hours, Grade 10 Reading and Writing
- Certificates Achieved
- EQAO test results
- Mastery of skills as outlined in the Individual Education Plan of students
- Absences
- Suspension/Violent Reports
- Student Surveys
The second phase and validation of analysis of data will be undertaken by a committee comprised of the Director of Education, Superintendents of Program, Curriculum and Special Education Coordinators, a minimum of two representatives of the Principals Council and external resource personnel as determined necessary. This committee will review the information gleaned from phase one of the analysis and complete the final report to be presented to the Board. This report will include information on a system wide basis according to one or more of the following criteria: grade, credit or curriculum area defined by the Ontario Curriculum documents, or specific group of students targeted in c), e), f), g), h) listed in Section 5.2.
The committee, with support from technical staff, will also prepare and approve the final version of individual school reports.
Phase three of the analysis will take place at the school level. School and individual student data will be provided to each Principal. It will then be the obligation of the Principal and his/her school staff to:
- review and analyze the data,
- share aggregate school data with School Councils and the school community,
- share individual students achievement data to individual students’, their parents/guardians, teachers and professional support staff and, where the information is used to enhance learning opportunities for students, use it as the catalyst for annual school and classroom improvements plans. Principals must at all times ensure and preserve the anonymity of students as required by the pertinent legislation.
Appendix A: Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Where disclosure permitted S. 32. An institution shall not disclose personal information in its custody or under its control except,
- in accordance with Part I;
- if the person to whom the information relates has identified that information in particular and consented to its disclosure;
- for the purpose for which it was obtained or compiled or for a consistent purpose;
- if the disclosure is made to an officer or employee of the institution who needs the record in the performance of his or her duties and if the disclosure is necessary and proper in the discharge of the institution’s functions;
- for the purpose of complying with an Act of the Legislature or an Act of Parliament, an agreement or arrangement under such an Act or a treaty;
- if disclosure is by a law enforcement institution, (i) to a law enforcement agency in a foreign country under an arrangement, a written agreement or treaty or legislative authority, or (ii) to another law enforcement agency in Canada;
- if disclosure is to an institution or a law enforcement agency in Canada to aid an investigation undertaken with a view to a law enforcement proceeding or from which a law enforcement proceeding or from which a law enforcement proceeding is likely to result.
- in compelling circumstances affecting the health or safety of an individual if upon disclosure notification is mailed to the last known address of the individual to whom the information relates;
- in compassionate circumstances, to facilitate contact with the next of kin or a friend of an individual who is injured, ill or deceased;
- to the Minister;
- to the Information and Privacy Commissioner;
- to the Government of Canada or the Government of Ontario in order to facilitate the auditing of shared cost programs.