In a split decision following extended discussion, the School District 69 (Qualicum) Board of Trustees voted last Tuesday to request the Ministry of Education exempt districts from administering the Foundational Skills Assessment (FSA) exams to students in the coming school year.
The motion, brought by Trustee Julie Austin, claims the standardized test is “outdated and incongruent with” the redesigned curriculum being implemented across B.C. this fall, and says the board “does not support the added expense and time” associated with administering the exam.
“The province itself has said (the FSA) is not a valid yardstick,” Austin said during the board’s regular meeting Sept. 27. “Why are we going to continue to administer it next January and February when it comes at enormous financial cost and teacher time?”
The Ministry is testing a draft redesign of the FSA in some schools this fall, and continues to work toward an updated assessment.
“In principal, I support this motion,” Trustee Elaine Young said. “However, I’m a little concerned; I don’t want to stop work that’s being done to put together an assessment that’s valid.”
Trustee Barry Kurland went further, stating that some of the information in Austin’s motion may be inaccurate.
“I can’t support the motion because some of the statements in it are misleading,” he said. “I’m not trying to attack Trustee Austin, but when you say the ‘old’ FSA or that it’s a ‘useless’ measuring tool, unless the information I’m reading on the FSA website is complete garbage, it’s 180 degrees from what I’m hearing here.”
Kurland added that B.C.’s school boards are ultimately responsible for administering the annual assessment under the school act, but Austin countered that the act says only that the Minister of Education “may” order a provincial assessment.
“It’s not mandated by law that they have one,” she said.
The FSA has come under fire by critics for its use in the Fraser Institute’s annual rankings of B.C. schools, and by opponents of standardized testing in general. Superintendent Rollie Koop said that the school district has no role in the Fraser Institute’s use of the data, but that assessments do provide data supporting the work of teachers, administrators and school district staff.
“The reality is, we’ve been given direction from the ministry that we would have to go forward (with the FSA) this year,” Koop said. “I would hate to be in a position where I’m having to choose between the direction of the board and the direction of the ministry.”
Before asking the Minster of Education to exempt all school districts from administering the FSA, Austin’s motion includes a sentence supporting “government collaborative approaches, including pilot programs, to find ways to approach provincial assessments as it relates to the newly designed curriculum.”
“That’s what I would support as the motion, and that we send that to the government and other school boards,” Kurland said. “But the rest of it, I think, is not entirely correct.”
Austin, Young and Trustee Jacob Gair voted for the motion, while Kurland opposed it.
Other news from the meeting:
• The board of trustees approved the district’s audited financial statements following a presentation by auditor Kelly Olsen.
• Supertintendent Koop released data from the school district’s “Thought Exchange” survey of parents and school administrators and staff, and said a link would be placed on the SD69 website that would allow the public to view the results.
• The board approved a feasibility study to look into the possibility of starting a late French Immersion Program and adding it to the budget for the 2017-18 school year.
• Rosie McLeod-Shannon announced to the board a name change to the district’s Indigenous Education Services Program. It was formerly called the First Nations Education Program.
