It's a way of documenting how engaged the students are in a given school. Not surprisingly, the United States, where institutional data tends to flow more freely, is far ahead of Canada in supplying school figures to parents. Some U.S. jurisdictions have begun setting annual targets for improvement. And in Arkansas, the assessment numbers spurred an investment in full-day kindergarten beginning at the age of 4. All this information might not always be used wisely.
Truth sometimes creates harm.
But not knowing is generally worse. Sean Fine is education reporter for The Globe and Mail. Republished with permission. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or republished or redistributed without the prior written consent of the copyright holder.