Growing Adoption Across Canada
The 2024–2025 school year has seen significant expansion of Digital EMA@School across Canadian provinces. Several provincial Ministries and school boards have adopted the platform, often referred to locally as DEMA (Digital Early Math Assessment), for system-wide early numeracy screening.
Implementation Highlights
Provincial implementations have demonstrated the platform’s adaptability to different contexts:
- Integration with provincial assessment systems: DEMA connects to existing student information systems and reporting infrastructure
- Bilingual and multilingual deployment: Supporting English, French, and additional languages based on regional needs
- Professional development programs: Comprehensive training for educators at all levels, from classroom teachers to Ministry data teams
- Collaborative norm-setting: Working with provincial teams to establish representative benchmarks for digital administration
Key Learnings
Early implementations have provided valuable insights that strengthen the platform for all users:
- Digital norms differ from paper norms: Because the digital format presents items one at a time (unlike paper where all items are visible), cut-off points are established specifically for digital test-takers
- Item-level data drives better instruction: Teachers report that seeing exactly which questions students got right, wrong, or skipped enables more targeted and strategic intervention planning
- Three administration windows support growth tracking: Fall, Winter, and Spring assessments allow educators to track student progress and adjust instruction throughout the year
Ongoing Research Partnership
The AIM Collective and Carleton University research team continue to work closely with implementing jurisdictions, providing research guidance, data analysis support, and ongoing refinement of the assessment based on real-world usage data.