B.C. Performance Standards

Last updated on January 25, 2024

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Review the standards

The B.C. Performance Standards have been developed for voluntary use in B.C. schools. They describe the professional judgments of a significant number of B.C. educators about standards and expectations for the following key areas of learning:

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Reading

 

Writing

 

Numeracy

 

Social responsibility

 

Healthy living

The B.C Healthy Living Performance Standards describe the professional judgments of a number of B.C educators about cross-curricular expectations for healthy living, and they provide a context within which teachers, students, and families can examine student learning in these areas.

 

The standards focus exclusively on performance assessment. In performance assessment students are asked to apply the skills and concepts they have learned to complete complex, realistic tasks. This type of assessment supports a criterion-referenced approach to evaluation and enables teachers, students, and parents to compare student performance to provincial standards.

The B.C. Performance Standards are intended as a resource to support ongoing instruction and assessment. Teachers can use these standards to:

  • monitor, evaluate, and report on individual student performance
  • identify students who may benefit from intervention
  • develop a profile of a class or group of students to support instructional decision-making
  • prompt discussions with parents, students, and other teachers about student performance
  • inform professional development activities
  • collaboratively set goals for individuals, classes, or schools
  • develop evidence for school growth plans
  • provide models for designing performance tasks

Using the performance standards

Performance standards describe levels of achievement in key areas of learning. Performance standards answer the questions:
"How good is good enough? What does it look like when a student's work has met the expectations at this grade level?"

The B.C. Performance Standards describe and illustrate four levels of student performance in terms of prescribed learning outcomes relevant to the key areas of reading, writing, numeracy, social responsibility and information and communication technology.

Supporting learning

The B.C. Performance Standards can be used to help plan instruction, they can also contribute to a comprehensive assessment and evaluation system. 

Ordering Information

  • You can order B.C. Performance Standards information through Crown Publication