This content is part of official issued curriculum applicable to all curriculum documents, Grades 1 to 12. Educators must also review the curriculum context information specific to their curriculum.
Content Standards and Performance Standards
The Ontario curriculum for Grades 1 to 12 comprises content standards and performance standards. Assessment and evaluation will be based on both the content standards and the performance standards.
The content standards are the overall and specific curriculum expectations given in the curriculum for every subject and discipline.
The performance standards are outlined in the achievement chart, also provided in the curriculum for every subject and discipline (each achievement chart is specific to the subject/discipline; see the sample charts provided). The achievement chart is a standard province-wide guide and is to be used by all teachers as a framework for assessing and evaluating student achievement of the expectations in the particular subject or discipline. It enables teachers to make consistent judgements about the quality of student learning, based on clear performance standards and on a body of evidence collected over time. It also provides teachers with a foundation for developing clear and specific feedback for students and parents.
The purposes of the achievement chart are to:
- provide a common framework that encompasses all curriculum expectations for all subjects/courses across the grades;
- guide the development of high-quality assessment tasks and tools (including rubrics);
- help teachers plan instruction for learning;
- provide a basis for consistent and meaningful feedback to students in relation to provincial content and performance standards;
- establish categories and criteria for assessing and evaluating students’ learning.
