It’s official! Rocky View Schools’ students continue to demonstrate strong achievement levels on provincial tests and exams. Results for the 2010/11 grade 3, 6, and 9 Provincial Achievement Tests and grade 12 Diploma Exams reveal that Rocky View students met Alberta Education’s Acceptable and Excellence Standards on the majority of tests and exams.
Superintendent of Schools Greg Bass credits the efforts and focus of school communities for ensuring students’ success, but noted that provincial tests provide only part of the overall picture concerning the performance of RVS students.
“Alberta Education’s assessment tools are designed to measure student achievement in relation to provincial standards,” said Bass. “However, many important learning outcomes cannot be measured by time-limited paper-and-pencil tests. In fact, several factors need to be weighed to get an accurate picture, such as school-awarded marks or classroom assessments, aligned with the competencies of a 21st Century learner.
“Our Board is one of many calling for new provincial assessment practices - a move we hope will emerge from Alberta Education’s Action Agendas,” said Bass.
According to Bass, RVS’ Grade 12 results are exceptional, with students meeting or exceeded provincial standards in 9 out of 11 diploma exams at the acceptable level and 10 out of 11 at the excellence level. Outstanding performance was witnessed in Chemistry 30 where RVS students exceeded provincial results by 10.4 percent.
Bass noted that results for provincial achievement tests also were good with students meeting or exceeding provincial expectations at the acceptable level in 16 of 20 tests reported. Particular strengths were observed in English Language Arts 3 and 6, French Language Arts 6, Math 6 in French, and Science 6 in French. An area of improvement was noted at the standard of excellence level.
“Overall, I am very pleased with this year’s progress. Results are a testament to the success we are experiencing as a 21st Century learning organization, where students are engaged, enriched and empowered,” he said.
Alberta Education expects 85 percent of students should meet an acceptable standard on both Achievement Tests and Diploma Exams. This indicates that students are achieving the basic standards for passing the course. The province further expects 15 percent of students will achieve a standard of excellence. This measure indicates that students are achieving an excellent level of competency in the area of study examined.