Province expands early grade assessments, upsetting teachers
By Justin Sibbet - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on July 17, 2024.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDjsibbet@lethbridgeherald.com The Government of Alberta has announced an expansion of its early grade proficiency assessments, though not everyone is happily welcoming the changes.In 2022, the province launched proficiency assessments for students between grades one and three. Last week, the Alberta minister of education, Demetrios Nicolaides, announced the government would be broadening this initiative to include students in kindergarten through grade six.
However, Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), says this is an attempt by the government to solve problems without understanding the root cause of the issues.
“Increasing the amount of standardized testing that students are going to do in (kindergarten) through (grade) six, doesn’t address the issues that teachers are talking about,” said Schilling. “I talk to teachers all the time and not one of them has ever said to me, ‘you know Jason, we need more standardized testing right now’.”
The ATA said in a media release on July 11, some students may now face over triple the amount of tests prior to reaching middle school than they would have just last year.
“Students who struggle the most could be subjected to as many as 32 standardized tests by the time they leave elementary school. The previous total was 10.”
In a statement sent to the Herald on Monday morning, Nicolaides says this is not a standardized test, but a necessary step to ensuring a child receives adequate education.
“It is important to clarify that despite communication from the ATA, these are not tests, but rather proficiency assessments. They measure a student’s cognitive abilities in literacy and numeracy. There are no grades and do not count towards a students marks in any way.”
Nicolaides says the assessment will enable educators to better understand where a student needs additional help.
“They tell teachers, staff and parents whether the student is at, below or above the average ability level for their age. If a student is found to be below where they should be, teachers and staff can use made in Alberta interventions.”
These interventions, according to Nicolaides, are proven to help students as they navigate the early stages of their educational journeys.
“Research has shown that after just 4-5 months of intervention support, the vast majority of students make significant improvements.”
Schilling, however, says it is just not that simple.
“(The tests) take 20 minutes individually, it’s not like you give this test to the whole class and they all write it at the same time. These are done on a one-to-one basis.”
The one-to-one nature, Schilling says, is a serious issue because it can take weeks for a round of assessments to be completed, leaving vacancies in otherwise productive learning time. He says this is primarily an issue because there are no supports available for teachers in Alberta.
“There’s a real shortage of (substitute teachers).”
He also says the tests are unfair for students, creating a culture of anticipated failure rather than a safe learning environment.
“When you get to grade one, they’re writing, quite often, these assessments based on curriculum they haven’t even been taught yet,” said Schilling. “Quite often, students aren’t that successful at them because they haven’t been taught that curriculum yet. One of my colleagues often likes to comment how students often cry because they don’t do well on these tests and then they feel bad. I don’t think that’s the whole point of school.”
Over and above the fear of failure, Schilling says this can add new stressors for students throughout the academic year.
“We tend to over-test our kids right now.”
Furthermore, Schilling indicates this program, which the government has budgeted $10 million for this school year, will not yield results that a teacher does not already know.
“What kind of value are we getting from these assessments? What information is being shared or is the teacher learning from these assessments that they don’t already know?”
He says the idea of an assessment test is not completely out of the question, but the method is a problem and the government needs to solve other issues before embarking on this path.
“It’s about priorities and I think there’s a better way to support a public education system instead of administering it to 32 tests by the time a student reaches grade six.”
Even so, Nicolaides says the approach is necessary for the continued growth and development of young students, especially those who are struggling in school.
“This revised approach to early years assessment will ensure that the literacy and numeracy skills of all students in these grades are assessed, and that students receive the necessary intervention supports in the critical early years of their education. To ensure our school boards have the funding and support they need, Budget 2024 set aside $10 million to support this work.”
The changes made by the Government of Alberta include kindergarten screening, beginning in January, modified timing and frequency of assessments for students between grades one and three and an introduction of screening tests for students in grades four and five this September. 3
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