Kevin Tonita is the Director of Assessment with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. He holds a Baccalauréat en Éducation (BEd), in French Teacher Education from the University of Regina. With more than 30 years of experience in education, Kevin has served in diverse roles across the province. He taught in both English and French at the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels in the province’s northern and southern regions. For approximately one year, he was an Educational Technology Consultant with the Government of Saskatchewan. For an additional six years, he served as the Coordinator of Educational Technology in a rural school division, supporting innovation and digital learning. Kevin transitioned from instructional technology into assessment by supporting the development of a system-wide common report card and pioneering early data analytics and reporting systems. Over the past 13 years, he has held leadership positions as Assistant Director and Director of Assessment with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.
Kevin discussed the development of the Saskatchewan Student Assessment Program (SSA), which launched in November 2024 after several years of planning. Developed in collaboration with sector groups and teachers, the assessment program is aligned with Saskatchewan’s Curriculum and the Provincial Education Plan, which includes four pillars: Learning and Assessment, Indigenous Education, Mental Health and Well-Being, and Student Transitions. Once fully implemented, all Grade 5 and 9 students in publicly funded schools will participate in a provincial mathematics assessment. Students in Grades 4, 7, and 10 will take part in an English language arts assessment.
Kevin believes that Saskatchewan is well-positioned to implement online assessment, since the province does not have to transition from a paper-based program and the associated logistical challenges. Adaptive assessment serves as a cornerstone in the development of the SSA. The assessment staff continues to engage in discussions with other Canadian jurisdictions that have modernized their assessments, particularly Alberta and Ontario, whose support has been invaluable in helping the province avoid common implementation pitfalls.
Saskatchewan has engaged Vretta as its technology partner and values the digital platform’s capabilities, appreciating the company’s responsiveness, quality, and efficiency. Kevin believes the platform will enable the province to fulfil a key objective: delivering timely, objective information to support decision-making for stakeholders at all levels, including students, parents, educators, school systems, and the government. Kevin emphasizes the importance of providing teachers with immediate, accurate, and actionable data. He highlights the need to establish valid and reliable expectations across the province, given its geographical and cultural diversity. He also shares plans for field testing and standard setting, involving expert panels and psychometricians to ensure the program’s quality. Kevin notes potential future innovations, including adaptive testing and decentralized online scoring.
Reflecting on his career to date, Kevin takes pride in having developed online instructional content for the province across a variety of subject areas during the early 2000s. The project that makes him proudest, however, is the Saskatchewan Student Assessment Program, which he believes has the potential to significantly enhance students’ literacy and numeracy for years to come. He emphasizes that this achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of an exceptional team of professionals in the Assessment Unit, the support of the education sector, and the unwavering commitment of Ministry leadership.
In his spare time, Kevin enjoys spending time with his family, regularly staying at his cottage retreat not far from Regina, golfing, and travelling. Please feel free to connect with Kevin at: kevin.tonita@gov.sk.ca.
RMJ ASSESSMENT 