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Beginning core-French students who had contact with part-time French monitors and students who did not were compared in five Canadian provinces in 1979-1980 as part of an evaluation of the Second Language Monitor Program. Twenty-eight schools and 56 classes were studied in Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, along with 5 schools and 10 classes in Manitoba and Ontario. Half of the sample had monitors for the grades 5 through 9 French classes, which were primarily first or second-year studies. Each student was interviewed for about 30 minutes in both French and English, and a standardized test of French listening comprehension was administered to determine speaking and listening competence, cultural knowledge, quantity and quality of experiences in French class, and attitude toward learning French. Students who had monitor contact reported many more experiences in French class, and their experiences were judged of higher quality than those of control students. While monitors did not appear to provide experiences that increase competence in any conventional way, it is concluded that they add desirable and unique cultural elements. The English and French interview questionnaires and student background information questionnaire are appended, along with a checklist and instructions for interviewers and a classroom observation coding scheme. (SW)

The Canadian Education Association sponsored a study to review and synthesize the literature on student evaluation; investigate changes in goals and methods; and make recommendations for improvement. Interviews were conducted in six provinces with administrative personnel, principals, and teachers. Employers and post-secondary institutions, as consumers of evaluation, were also surveyed. A model was developed for the relationships between evaluation, teaching, learning, time on task, students' self-concept and school attitudes, and teacher attitudes. Results indicated that achievement testing was common but little use was made of test results. There was increasing reliance on testing, and less on consultants, to assist in educational quality control. Employers were generally more concerned with attitudes and behavior than grades; banks and insurance companies were most interested in grades. Colleges were concerned about the comparability of schools' grades. The following recommendations were made: (1) raise the status of evaluation; (2) develop promotional materials discussing and explaining student evaluation; (3) establish a task force on evaluation and technological change within each province; (4) organize regional conferences on student evaluation; and (5) conduct a study of teachers' skills, attitudes, and feelings about evaluation. An annotated bibliography is appended. (GDC)

This document reports on findings for Ontario from the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS), planned as a documentation and analysis of mathematics education. Mathematics achievement was only one component: the overall objective was to learn about the teaching of mathematics, what was taught, how it was taught, and what methods were most successful. Chapter 1 reviews the design of SIMS and describes how different interpretations of the two populations to be studied led to quite different samples of students from country to country. The second chapter is concerned with the officially mandated curriculum. Characteristics of Ontario schools and teachers are described in this chapter and compared with schools and teachers in other countries. Ontario student achievement and attitudes are examined in chapter three. Achievement is discussed topic by topic in relation to other characteristics, with emphasis on students' opportunity to learn; gender differences are also explored. Attitudes are regarded as an outcome in their own right as well as in relation to achievement. The final chapter presents some of the lessons learned and plausible conclusions from the study. Results from Ontario are discussed mainly in the international context. A list of SIMS participants and a list of reports published or to be published on SIMS are appended. (MNS)