Job action is not preventing the teachers’ union from continuing its campaign against a set of standardized tests given to all Grades 4 and 7 students in the province.
For the past several years, the provincial teachers’ union has campaigned against the Foundation Skills Assessment tests. Schools have between Jan. 16 and March 16 to administer the exams, which are meant to determine how well students are meeting prescribed learning outcomes for reading, writing and numeracy.
Derek DeGear, president of the Nanaimo District Teachers’ Association, said for the fifth year, the union sent home letters urging parents to withdraw their children from the tests and he’s been getting more calls than usual this year from parents concerned that schools are not allowing their children to opt out.
He’s received between 20 and 30 calls or e-mails from parents who have been told by principals that their child cannot be excused from writing the tests.
“They’re lying to parents in their communications,” said DeGear. “The School Act allows parents to withdraw their child for extenuating circumstances. A parent has every right to say, ‘I don’t want my son or daughter writing this.'”
Last year, about 15 per cent of students did not participate, down from about 20 per cent in 2010 and about 25 per cent in 2009.
Parents are telling DeGear that principals are pressuring them to allow their children to participate and asking them to reveal the “extenuating circumstances” that they feel should excuse their child from the FSAs.
“Some parents are afraid if they stand up to the principal, there could be consequences down the road, that it could be held against their child,” he said.
The union’s main objection to the tests is the way the results are used by the Fraser Institute to rank schools.
DeGear said the tests don’t help students learn or teachers teach – they do not measure student growth over the year and cannot be used as a tool to improve learning because teachers don’t get the results until the end of the year.
Donna Reimer, school district spokeswoman, said information about the FSAs sent home with parents includes the Education Ministry’s guidelines for excluding students.
Students are excused if they have a mental or physical disability or do not comprehend or speak English well enough to be able to meaningfully complete the assessment. The ministry also allows principals to excuse students in “extenuating circumstances” – circumstances that are unforeseen, unexpected and significantly disruptive and beyond a student’s control.
“The ministry has been clear with us,” said Reimer. “There has to be a reason for it. We’ve set out the expectations and asked principals to follow them. It will be up to each principal to talk to parents and determine if there are extenuating circumstances.”
The FSA results are the only consistent system-wide assessments the district has and in the future, district officials plan to work with educators to develop further system-wide assessments, she added.
