| The role of Manitoba Senior 4 Mathematics provincial assessments may be characterized by the effects they have on resource allocation in high schools. While the literature is rich with studies that indicate resources can affect student achievement (Odden & Archibald, 2001; Odden & Busch, 1998; Hawley-Miles & Darling-Hammond, 1998), little attention has been given to the effects provincial assessments have on resource allocation in other areas (such as staffing or class size) in the school system. Noting the gap in the existing literature, this thesis aims to discern whether provincial assessments influence how resources are allocated at divisional and high school levels.; This study focused on the creation of a typology that extended the existing monetary definition of an educational resource by including the non-monetary issues of: staffing, time, class size, materials, specialist positions and professional development. The influence of provincial assessments on resource allocation was then explored using a case study that assessed how decisions were made concerning the resources included in the typology by individuals within the hierarchy of the school division: i.e., superintendents, principals, consultants and department heads.; This thesis argues that utilising a typology to examine resource allocation exposed variances in resource allocation that might otherwise have not surfaced using a more reductive/traditional conception of resources. While some categories within the typology were not necessarily influenced by the existence of provincial assessments, the rationale for how resources were allocated within categories appeared to be influenced by the participants' hierarchical position within the school division. |
