The Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) shared their views on increased testing on Thursday in response to the province's intention to raise the bar for testing in the 2024–2025 school year.

Students need more support, not more tests, according to Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) President Jason Schilling. On July 5 the Alberta government released changes to provincial testing for the upcoming school year. In an email to school boards, the government announced all schools will be required to administer provincially mandated numeracy and literacy tests to students in Grades 1 to 3 up to three times each school year.

Here is what was outlined according to the email sent by Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education that was shared by the ATA:

  • Kindergarten: Starting in January 2025, screening will be required in literacy and numeracy for all students in January of each year. 
  • Grades 1 to 3: Mandatory screening assessments will continue in Grades 1 to 3; however, the timing and frequency of these assessments will change. Starting in September 2024, the literacy and numeracy screening for students in Grades 1 to 3 will now be completed in September and January, with an additional assessment in June for those students identified in January as requiring additional support. The administration window to complete all screening assessments in these grades will be extended to three weeks. 
  • Grade 3: Student Learning Assessments will be permanently discontinued and will no longer be available for use. 
  • Grades 4 and 5: Starting in September 2026, screening assessments in literacy and numeracy for students in Grades 4 and 5 will be introduced. Further information about this requirement will be shared at a future date. 
  • Grade 6: Provincial achievement tests for students in Grade 6 will continue to occur in May and June.

The revised approach to early years assessment, according to the email outlining the changes, will ensure that all students in these grades have their literacy and numeracy skills evaluated and that they receive the required intervention support during the crucial early years of their education.

“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 support to get those kids additional help,” stated Schilling.

New provincial assessments are being introduced in Grades 4 and 5, potentially subjected to as many as 32 standardized tests by the time they finish elementary school, compared to the previous total of 10, according to the ATA.

Schilling says the time and energy required by teachers to administer tests takes away from time teachers could be helping kids.

“While the government claims to have listened to experts, it’s clear they did not hear what actual teachers had to say. Politicians and bureaucrats who have little knowledge and experience of the realities of Alberta’s classrooms might think this is a great idea, but teachers, who will end up spending hours administering tests and preparing students for them in September, January and June, do not. All this is being foisted on the same teachers who are still trying to implement new curriculum across multiple grades and subject areas.”

Schilling suggests a better approach is to respect teachers' professional judgment, allowing them to decide which students would benefit from an assessment and when. More fundamentally, the province needs to stop distractions and address the real issue in public education—the severe lack of appropriate funding.

“Alberta spends the least per student on public education in Canada. That’s why we have large and growing class sizes, inadequate support for students with special needs, shortages of aides and substitutes, and good teachers leaving the profession. Alberta is not going to test its way out of underfunding. It’s time our provincial leaders got their priorities right.”

The 46,000-member Alberta Teachers' Association represents the interests of its members while also advancing public education and supporting teachers' professional practice.

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