Editor:
Re: Stop misuse of school tests: Larsen, April 23.
As a Grade 9 student at Semiahmoo Secondary, I am learning about biased writing in school.
I couldn’t help but notice that your article about the FSA testing was very one-sided against the FSAs. The entire article was what a school trustee thinks about the “controversial issue” of FSA tests.
Shouldn’t such an article present both sides of the “controversial issue,” so readers can make their own decision?
My opinion, having written the FSAs a few years ago, is that they were actually beneficial to my education. FSAs are a chance for students in Grade 7 to learn to write tests similar to exams they will write in high school, without the pressure.
The FSAs are standardized tests that let everyone know which schools are falling behind.
Of course, private schools will do better, because they can select the students they want, while public schools take everyone. Parents should know to take this and other factors into account when choosing a school. Perhaps separating the rankings into public/private categories would make them more accurate.
I think it’s very important to know if students are not at the level that they should be, and if they are not, to determine the reason. Once we know that, we can improve the education system by amending the schools that need it.
The solution is not to eliminate the only standardized test that elementary schools have.
The amount of “precious instruction time” wasted is negligible compared to the valuable information that the FSAs give.
Elise Burgert, White Rock
