Recent Projects
Collaborative scholarship in assessment, evaluation, and knowledge mobilization


Recent Projects
Examining Assessment and Evaluation Education
This research agenda investigates how educators and evaluators cultivate their practices in assessment and evaluation.
Evaluation Capacity Network: Collaborating for Community-Driven and Culturally Relevant Early Childhood Practices, Programs, and Policies
The goal of the Evaluation Capacity Network (ECN) is to collaboratively develop community-driven and culturally relevant approaches for producing and using evidence to improve early childhood practice, programs, and policy towards system effectiveness.
Research into a Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation as a Mechanism for Supporting System Level Thinking and Data-Informed Decision Making in Education
This multi-year project involves an ongoing collaboration between university-based evaluator-researchers with school district leaders, educators, and community partners in the pursuit of continuous improvement and ongoing data-informed decision making in education.
Measurement of Large-scale Educational Change
A series of projects focussed on measurement of change in developing countries. These projects have been conduced in the Caribbean Region, Middle East, and Asia, and funded by the Interamerican Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, Department for International Development, and the British Council.
Assessment of Competence in the Professions
The purpose of this research is to understand individual and group processing in developing accurate approximations of competence.
Use of Big Data to Model Performance and Change
Working with colleagues in admissions, undergraduate medicine, post-graduate medicine, and dentistry we have developed a comprehensive data system that tracks students from time of application to graduation, and for some, to post-graduate training.
Accountability of English-language Proficiency Testing for Immigrants to Canada
The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to assess the suitability of the Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic to assess English-language proficiency of potential immigrant by Immigration, Refugees, & Citizenship (IRC) Canada.
Impact of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) on Second Language Students
The purposes of the SSHRC-funded study are of three folds: 1) examine ESL/ELD students’ OSSLT performance; 2) investigate the potential influence of OSSLT on the learning of this group of students; and 3) explore the factors that contribute to or impede ESL/ELD students’ OSSLT performance and their academic success in Ontario secondary schools.
Test Preparation Research
Dr. Liying Cheng together with three co-investigators and two partners, examined the effects of test preparation on test performance and English language proficiency among test-takers whose predominant language is not English.
CITED: Partnered Knowledge Mobilization between Researchers and Media Organizations
CITED produces KMb podcasts on important societal issues through a tripartite co-production model between researchers, journalists, and community members.
A Multi-year Developmental Evaluation of the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research
This mixed methods evaluation measures partnership indicators and brokering functions within four provincial research-practice-policy networks (Math, Well-Being, Equity, and Indigenous Knowledge). The research involves a six-phase, mixed-methods design that targets Ontario Ministry of Education supported KNAER initiatives and knowledge networks across the province.
Increasing Capacity to Mobilize and Apply Research Knowledge in the Ontario Education System
This study convenes multi-stakeholder panels of researchers, intermediaries, policymakers and practitioners to a) determine three focus areas for KMb efforts (such as mental health, special education, equity, or strategic planning), b) suggest existing research-based products, and c) create tailored KMb tools and resources for different educational practitioners in these focus areas.
Program Evaluation for the Provincial Outreach Program for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (POPFASD)
The overarching goal of this objectives-based program evaluation is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Provincial Outreach Program for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (POPFASD) in preparing educators in British Columbia (BC) to support students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Assessing Self-regulation in Play-based Contexts
As part of Dr. Timmons’ previous research (led by Drs. Janette Pelletier and Carl Corter) the Child Observation Framework (COF) was developed as a tool for researchers to analyze and examine children’s self-regulation and play behaviour. Using the COF, 10-minute observations (running records) are carried out during four classroom contexts: educator-led whole-group time, small group time, transitions between activities and child-chosen free-play time.
Examining Kindergarten Policies and Practices to Foster Self-regulation
Guiding this study are 3 objectives: 1) to examine the ways self-regulation skills are defined and promoted in policy and practice documents in Canada; 2) to compare this practice-oriented conceptualization of self-regulation with theoretical models of self-regulation, and 3) to develop and disseminate recommendations based on improving clarity in understanding what self-regulation is and how best to foster it in early years contexts.
Teaching Teams in Kindergarten: Comparing Educator Expectations in Kindergarten
The purpose of this research is to explore the factors that contribute to the formation of educator expectations in full-day play-based Kindergarten in Ontario. This study examines reports from Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and teachers on their teaching beliefs, roles, teaching practices, and interactions that support students in meeting curriculum expectations.
Preparing Teachers for the Age of Accountability
The purpose of this research is to provide empirical data to inform pre-service education that effectively prepares teachers for the age of accountability. Specifically, this research has explored the value of various approaches to assessment education by researching a range of program structures, assessment course curricula, and pre-service pedagogies across Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the United States.
Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory
This SSHRC-funded research develops a tool – the Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory – to assess teachers’ approaches to classroom assessment based on contemporary professional standards. Through a series of studies across contexts, this research has contributed to expanding notions of assessment literacy with implications for teacher practice.
What’s in a Grade? A Multiple Perspective Validity Study on Grading Policies, Practices, Values, and Consequences
The current global trend towards globalization, immigration, and internationalization of schools and universities has led to the increased use of grades across learning cultures. However, very little is known about cultural differences that contribute to the construction, valuing, and consequences of grading practices. The purpose of this study is to investigate the validity of grades by examining the values and consequences of teachers’ grading practices in two distinct learning cultures: Canada and China.
