More than a quarter century ago, I was in Grade 3.
I remember the scene vividly, walking into the portable at Harrison Public School, where my teacher, Mrs. Pallet, was about to administer what was called EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) testing. This form of standardized testing was created in 1996, designed to test reading, writing, grammar and math skills of students in grades 3 and 6.
I couldn't tell you what was on any of those tests or what I learned from studying for them, but I remember how nervous I was to take the tests. I spent hours upon hours with my mom doing practice tests and trying to prepare. She hoped that would ease my nerves. It did not. I'm sure some tears were shed, before or after taking that test.
Retaining information was never my Achilles heel, it was translating that information onto a page in a test environment that freaked me out. I wasn't the best student.
According to the Ontario Government, those tests are still used to help guide the curriculum.
"the main objectives of these tests are to provide data for both accountability, purposes and improved teaching and learning," the EQAO said in 1998.
I think it's a pointless and futile exercise that measures very little of what students actually learn and retain in a classroom.
The Alberta Government is travelling down a similar road in a summer announcement they called "supporting Alberta's youngest students," which is a farce in and of itself because what child in their right mind is going to feel "supported" by writing a yearly standardized test.
"Through a phased-in approach, students in kindergarten to Grade 5 will be assessed on their foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Beginning fall 2024, teachers and educational staff will be able to identify areas where students may need an extra hand earlier on in a student’s education journey," Alberta Education said in a press release on July 11.
Imagine testing Kindergarten students?
"Oh, I'm sorry Johhny but you finger painted outside the lines, you have to return to kindergarten next year".
(I am being factitious and I understand there are important skills that need to be learned by five year olds, but surely, a standardized test to measure progress is completely unnecessary).
At that age, you want to foster a positive learning environment for students so that they take an interest in the world around them. Not make them meticulously write out their ABCs perfectly, understand how to count to 10 and the value of those numbers or understand the meaning of a book.
The more you hammer students with testing, the faster they will disengage from learning and at a time when teacher's already fight for student's attention as it is, this battle can't be one that's worth while.
According to Alberta Education, under the new requirements, beginning in fall 2024, students in grades 1 to 3 will be assessed twice a year, and students receiving extra support will be assessed a third time in June to monitor their progress.
In January 2025, an early literacy and numeracy screening will be introduced for kindergarten students, and in September 2026, there will be new screening requirements for students in grades 4 and 5.
Not just once a year, but three times a year!! In what world does anyone think that will help students?? It will only help people who don't spend their day-to-day in a classroom come up with metrics for success or failure. Shouldn't the goal be educating and helping, not memorizing and testing?
The Alberta Teacher's Association isn't a fan of this hastily rolled out plan, which seems again to have failed to consult the key stakeholders – teachers. The people in the classroom who have to administer these tests.
“When so many kids are falling through the cracks, we need to be giving them a safety net instead of measuring how fast they’re falling. Teachers don’t need a test to identify which students are struggling; they need smaller classes and more supports to get those kids additional help," said ATA president Jason Schilling.
Teachers in those grades already have a curriculum that they must follow. It requires them to have passed on a certain set of required learnings to students by the end of the year.
To me, the province is saying their own curriculum, which they've sliced and diced and rewritten in recent years, is not good enough. Teachers also write report cards for parents, examining students progress and advising them on what needs to happen for them to be successful going forward. Again, it feels like Alberta Education is saying that's not good enough.
What seems ironic about all this is that just two years ago, Albertan students did exceptionally well in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), a test that measures scholastic achievement among 15-year-olds.
Among Canadian students, Albertans were first in science and reading and second in math.
That is obviously further down the line compared to the testing the province will implement this fall, but it also shows what students are learning up to that point is working!
And that is even with, according to Statistics Canada the worst funding per student in the country. (operational expenditures by school boards in Alberta totalled $11,601 per student in the 2020/21 school year. The Canadian average for all provinces for that same school year was $13,332 per student.)
There was nothing in the province's announcement to provide additional resources or funding to administer this new testing. Teachers are already stretched to their limit simply teaching the subject matter they're required to, to more students that should probably be in a standard classroom.
"School authorities will be provided with a list of approved assessments for staff and will have the autonomy to select the screening and assessment tools needed to support their students. The assessments will enable school authorities to make local decisions to better support students’ specialized learning needs," the province stated in its release.
Do more, with less, seems to essentially be the message here.
I don't think this change will necessarily have disastrous consequences, but I worry about what a change like this signals to our youth and the real value of education.
We want students who love to learn, not ones who are forced to memorize ad nauseam numbers and facts.
Let's hope we have leaders who recognize that fact sooner rather than later.
Byron Hackett is the Managing Editor of the Red Deer Advocate and a Regional Editor for Black Press Media.
