Teaching to a Better Test - Modeling the History Process in an Alternative to the History of Quebec and Canada Exam

"If tests determine what teachers actually teach and what students will study - and they do - then the road to reform is a straight but steep one: test those capacities and habits we think are essential, and test them in context. Make them replicate, within reason, the challenges at the heart of each academic discipline. Let them be - authentic." (Wiggins, 1989, p.41 )

Challenged with the need to help Grade 10 students better prepare themselves for the History of Quebec and Canada (History 414) exam, teachers Ralph Mason (now V.P. at D'Arcy McGee), Jeralyne Manweiler and Steve Altenberg, from Philemon Wright High School at the Western Quebec School Board, took action. Recognizing the paradigm shift that would be required to implement the QEP at the Secondary level, the teachers saw a need to develop a final exam that would more closely match the spirit of the upcoming curriculum. They applied and received funding for a pilot program inspired by the current ELA process exams and the actual practice of history. This led to the creation of materials used to supplement the workbook currently used by their students and a series of process-oriented alternatives to the History 414 final exam. The assessment tools were piloted with students and used for review purposes prior to the examination period.

This website documents the teachers' process and in doing so, raises some of the broader issues related to evaluation and assessment in the education system.