Following a distinguished career in provincial educational curriculum and assessment, Nancy Walt is currently the owner of Spiral Crafts Studio, an art-based business in Victoria, British Columbia (B.C.). She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Educational Assessment, Testing, and Measurement from the University of Victoria.

Nancy began her 32-year career in assessment as a research officer and transitioned through various roles, including assessment manager, director of curriculum and assessment, and finally executive director of curriculum and assessment. Her work included managing large-scale assessment programs; developing classroom assessment tools; contributing to provincial curriculum redesign and educational transformation, and developing B.C. performance standards for assessing student learning. She also represented B.C. in national and international assessment forums such as the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and several OECD committees.

Nancy was involved in the province’s transition to digital assessment, which began in 2004. She highlights some of the many benefits, including increased accessibility for students; enhanced student engagement; the ability to accommodate students’ diverse learning needs by offering adaptations, special provisions, and specialized online test-taking tools (e.g., text size adjustment [zoom in/out], colour enhancement); greater efficiency in administrative processes; and a range of environmental and cost-saving benefits. Prior to her retirement, she contributed to the provincial discussions on the need to modernize the existing online assessment program. She collaborated with staff to outline the necessary requirements, after which Vretta was selected as the successful proponent to provide a modern digital assessment platform.

Regarding the future of large-scale assessment, Nancy notes a general lack of trust in current designs and emphasizes the need for further modernization to better reflect classroom practices and contemporary curriculum approaches. She highlights the potential for collaborative improvements in assessment involving the majority of provinces and territories that have transitioned to digital assessment. Nancy also recognizes the potential value of the use of AI for scoring/marking and test-item generation, while underscoring the continued importance of human oversight. She expresses a desire to shift assessments toward an instructional focus that supports student learning, rather than serving primarily as a system measure.

Nancy’s key goals in assessment have always centred on supporting student learning and assisting teachers, with a focus on ensuring that large-scale assessments serve multiple purposes. Reflecting on her career in assessment, she takes pride in maintaining open and collaborative relationships with educators and partner organizations, including those with differing views on the value of large-scale assessment. She also emphasizes her role in developing the B.C. Performance Standards, which influenced classroom instruction and assessment practices, as well as her involvement in the province’s major curriculum redesign project, which took several years to implement.

Although retired, Nancy remains open to small-scale involvement in assessment initiatives that align with her principle of consistently placing students at the centre and supporting student learning. She is currently focused on her thriving art career. Nancy participates in the Saanich Scattered Artist Art Tour, offers art workshops, and maintains a successful mixed-media practice, creating abstract pieces with collage and acrylic paint. In her leisure time, she enjoys camping in her recreational vehicle, primarily on Vancouver Island.