Karen Reddick, The Editor’s Blog

Both of these words are correct and interchangeable. You can use either one because they mean the same thing, but many reference manuals state that attaching the [s] is used mostly in British English and without the [s] is preferred in American English.

Another tidbit about the word toward is its pronunciation. Toward is pronounced /tord (rhymes with board) — not /tword or /tward.

Toward, like backward, implies movement.

Examples:
The horses knew they were headed toward home.
He likes to sit with his back toward the wall.
Mom didn’t like her teenager’s attitude toward her father.
He threw in five dollars toward the bill.
Their efforts toward peace were successful.

Happy writing!