THIS BLOG IS LONG AND SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL. THE BLOG COMMENTS ARE IN FULL CAPITALS. THE PORTION IN NORMAL FONT IS THE TEXT OF THE PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTED BY THE TEACHERS UNION.
THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA MANDATES AN ANNUAL TEST OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IN ALL SCHOOLS. THE FOUNDATION SKILLS ASSESSMENT (FSA), TESTS GRADE 4 AND 7 STUDENTS IN READING, WRITING AND MATH.
THE B.C. TEACHERS FEDERATION HAS OBTAINED PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUTE THE FOLLOWING PAMPHLET TO PARENTS THROUGH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. THE PAMPHLET ITSELF FOLLOWS AND IS IN normal font. MY CRITICAL COMMENTS ARE INSERTED IN CAPITAL LETTERS
THE VERY FACT THAT THE UNION HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO DISTRIBUTE THEIR VIEWS THROUGH THEIR CLASSROOMS WARRANTS ANOTHER BLOG. THIS BLOG IS SIMPLY A CRITIQUE OF THE CONTENT OF THE PAMPHLET.
What Parents Need to Know
What Parents Need to Know British Columbia Teachers’ Federation • www.bctf.ca
The students of our province need more time learning and less time wasted on unnecessary, bureaucratic testing.
GOOD IDEA MORE TIME LEARNING. PERHAPS LONGER SCHOOL DAY [E.G. FRANCE] MORE TEACHING HOURS LESS "PROFESSIONAL TIME".
Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) What teachers believe: Teachers believe that the purpose of assessment is to support and promote learning. •
SEEMINGLY UNWILLING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE TERM ASSESSMENT IS USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH DETERMINING LEVEL OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.
Teachers know that it is important to use a variety of methods to effectively assess student progress and meet student needs. Ongoing classroom assessment allows students to demonstrate what they are learning in a variety of ways and provides information to inform teaching and learning.
THIS IS IN NO WAY COMPROMISED. IT IS IMPROVED BY PROVIDING ONE MORE DATA SET. PARENTS NEED A VARIETY OF MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. REPORT CARDS ARE ONE WAY. FSA IS ANOTHER.
TAXPAYERS NEED SOME SIGNAL OF EDUCATION ACCOMPLISHMENT.
• An assessment that provides information to a teacher about what an individual student needs to develop understanding of a subject or topic is different from an assessment of how an education system is performing according to general goals for education.
TEACHERS ARE FREE TO DEVELOP/USE WHATEVER INFORMATION THEY FIND USEFUL IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL WORK. THE ISSUE IS WHETHER THEY CAN BREAK OUT OF THEIR PRESENT MIND SET AND PARTICIPATE CONSTRUCTIVELY IN ASSESSING ACCOMPLISHMENT.
• Large-scale random assessments of student performance could be appropriate in the evaluation of provincially prescribed educational programs. The results then could be used only to inform curriculum development, in-service activities, and learning resource development.
THIS IS TRUE AND I HOPE THE TEACHERS AS PROFESSIONALS WILL PARTICIPATE IN IMPROVING SUCH ASSESSMENTS. HOWEVER IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT PARENTS AND TAXPAYEERS RECEIVE EVALUATION OF ACCOMPLISHEMENT THAT IS INDEPENDENT OF THE TEACHERS WHO PLAY ONE SIGNIFCANT ROLE IN ACCOMPLISHMENT.
What the research says: Research says that it is effective classroom assessment that can help a student learn, not large-scale assessment. This is why researchers have started referring to classroom assessment as “assessment for learning” and large-scale assessment as “assessment of learning.”
RESEARCH DOES NOT TALK OR "SAY". RESEARCH REPORTS. NOTE AGAIN THE UNWILLINGNESS TO FACE UP TO THE ISSUE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. IS THE FSA A MEASURE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT [ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING]?
Effective assessment for learning can improve student achievement substantially, and that improved classroom assessment helps low achievers the most. (Black and William, 1998, U.K. Assessment Reform Group.)
GOOD CARRY ON WITH THE PROFESSIONAL TASK OF IMPROVING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. AND ACCEPT THE IDEA OF MEASURES TO INDEPENDENTLY MEASURE ACCOMPLISHMENT. NOTE HOW THIS REFERENCE IS OF "ASSESSMENT FOR LEARING" WHILE THE FSA IS CONCERNED WITH "ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING"
Research has shown that costly, large-scale testing can have negative effects on student motivation and learning, and that those effects are greatest for low-achieving students, the ones who most need support.
AND FACING THIS "CAN HAVE", WORK PROFESSIONALLY TO DEVELOP IMPROVED METHODS OF MOTIVATING STUDENTS WHEN THEIR ASSESSED ACCOMPLISHMENT IS BELOW WHAT THE TEACHER VIEWS AS THEIR POTENTIAL. EQUALLY IMPORTANT, AND MUCH MORE DIFFICULT, IS TO FIND METHODS TO ASSIST STUDENTS AND PARENTS TO A REALISTIC VIEW OF ASPIRATIONS RELATIVE TO CAPACITY.
Common negative effects of testing include:
• narrowing of instruction and instructional methods.
TRULY PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS TEACH THE CURRICULUM AND DO NOT "TEACH TO TESTS".
• less successful students concluding they are unable to succeed, and therefore reducing effort
BETTER TO TAKE THE VIEW THAT STUDENTS PERFORMING BELOW THEIR POTENTIAL CONCLUDE THAT THEY MUST INCREASE THEIR EFFORT.
• students inappropriately focusing on short-term performance goals: “What’s on the test?” .
WHAT THE STUDENTS "FOCUS" ON IS THEIR CHOICE AND PERHAPS THE CHOICE OF THEIR PARENTS. IDEALLY THE "TEST" IS WELL DESIGNED RELATIVE TO THE CURRICULUM I.E. TO WHAT IS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED.
• students experiencing test anxiety.
WE ALL EXPERIENCE ANXIETY ARISING FROM ANY NUMBER OF SITUATIONS. ASSESSMENTS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT WILL ARISE ALL THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL AND CAREER PATHS. GET USED TO THIS FACT OF LIFE.
• students, parents, and others inappropriately generalizing test results to overall “value” or “intelligence.”
THIS IS WHERE THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, TEACHERS, AND PERHAPS EVEN THE BCTF SHOULD BE MORE PROACTIVE AND PROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE INTERPRETATION.
(Wynne Harlen and Ruth Deakin Crick (2002). Review: What is the evidence of the impact of summative assessment and tests on students’ motivation for learning? Presentation, International Conference, Assessment Reform Group, March 5, 2002.)
NOTE CAREFULLY THAT ONCE AGAIN THE IDEAS OF ASSESSMENT AS MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IS SUBTLY AVOIDED.
What teachers are concerned about: FSA tests undermine classroom assessment and have a negative impact on student motivation and learning.
NOTE CAREFULLY THAT ONCE AGAIN THE IDEAS OF INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT AS MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IS SUBTLY AVOIDED.
Teachers do not simply assess students’ learning so they have marks to put on report cards. The main purpose of classroom assessment is to support student learning, not simply to measure it. Constantly assessing the learning of students in their classroom allows teachers to monitor progress and adjust their teaching accordingly.
NOTE CAREFULLY THAT ONCE AGAIN THE IDEAS OF INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT AS MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IS SUBTLY AVOIDED.
The misuse of FSA testing results is leading to narrow and misleading assumptions about how well schools are doing. Under pressure to find improvement, some districts and schools may be eager to report increases that are not statistically significant. Often the increases are a result of practicing FSA- type tests several times a year or simply a result of exempting low-achieving students from the test. The most blatant misuse of FSA results has been the ranking of schools by the Fraser Institute and then reported by the media. Unfortunately, it misrepresents the efforts of teachers and trustees to serve their communities.
IF THE BCTF FEELS THE DATA IS BEING MISINTERPRETED THEN THEY ARE PERFECTLY FREE TO PROVIDE BETTER INTERPRETATIONS. IF "DISTRICTS" AND "SCHOOLS" ACT CONTRARY TO THEIR MANDATE IT INDICATES A LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE FRASER INSTITUTE HAD A NUMBER OF DEMOGRAPHIC MEASURES AS WELL AS THE TEST SCORES. PERHAPS THE BCTF COULD ACT COOPERATIVELY WITH THE FRASER INSTITUTE TO DEVELOP MULTIVARIATE ANALYSES THAT BETTER CAPTURE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE VARIABLES. AS FOR THE PRESS, IF THEY ARE INSUFFICIENTLY CRITICAL OF WHAT AND HOW THEY CHOOSE TO REPORT THEN IT IS A REFLECTION ON THEIR PROFESSIONALISM.
What teachers are doing:
• Teachers remain opposed to the FSA not only because it interferes with instruction but it is costly and ineffective in improving achievement.
IT IS NOT CLEAR HOW IT "INTERFERES WITH INSTRUCTION". IF IT IS THE TIME REQUIRED TO WRITE THE TEST, THEN THE SCHOOL YEAR COULD BE EXTENDED BY THE TIME REQUIRED. IF IT IS COSTLY THAT IS THE PROBLEM OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING PRIORITIES AND FAIR ENOUGH TO QUESTION THAT. THE ISSUE IS EFFECTIVENESS. DO FSA EXAMS MEASURE ACCOMPLISHMENT?
• Teachers are asking parents to consider requesting principals to withdraw their children, according to ministry guidelines concerning exemptions, from the participation in the Grade 4 and Grade 7 FSA assessments.
IF THIS DOCUMENT IS THE BEST RATIONALE ON OFFER MY HUNCH IS THAT MOST PARENT WILL SEE IT AS A SELF SERVING DOCUMENT DESIGNED TO PREVENT INDEPENDENT MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.
• Teachers are urging the BC Ministry of Education to adopt a two-year moratorium on all standardized tests, including the Foundation Skills Assessment.
IF THIS DOCUMENT IS THE BEST RATIONALE ON OFFER MY HUNCH IS THAT THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION WILL SEE IT AS A SELF-SERVING DOCUMENT DESIGNED TO PREVENT INDEPENDENT MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. IN THIS RESPECT IT IS SIMILAR TO THE ACTION OF TEACHERS UNIONS IN THE USA IN THEIR OPPOSITION TO CHARTER SCHOOLS, PAY FOR PERFORMANCE, AND A VOUCHER SYSTEM.
• Teachers are calling on the government to establish a Testing and Assessment Task Force to explore the issues, review the research on student assessment, and make recommendations before the end of the moratorium.
THE TASK FORCE IS PROBABLY WORTHWHILE BUT BETTER TO HAVE IT ONGOING WITH CONTINUATION OF THE FSA SO THAT FSA DATA WILL CONTINUE TO BE A SOURCE FOR EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FSA
• Teachers will continue to use a range of assessment tools in their classrooms to support student learning.
GOOD! I HOPE THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THIS ALL ALONG AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO.
• Teachers are actively speaking out and working with parents and others in the education community to effect positive change by moving to another structure for assessment—a random sample.
STATISTICAL SURVEY METHODS ARE CLEAR ON THIS POINT THE ONLY REASON TO USE SAMPLING IS TO REDUCE COST. A 100% SURVEY PRODUCES MORE RELIABLE DATA. MORE IMPORTANT, PARENTS WANT AN INDEPENDENT MEASURE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND SO SHOULD TEACHERS, PRINCIPALS, SCHOOL BOARDS, AND TAXPAYERS.
What you can do:
• Write a letter to the minister of education opposing the FSA. • Encourage parents to consider asking principals to withdraw their children from the FSA assessments, according to ministry guidelines concerning exemptions.
THIS IS IT. I WRITE, BUT IN SUPPORT OF THE FSA.
• Talk to teachers about the range of assessment tools they use to support learning. • Urge your board or PAC to support a two-year moratorium on all standardized tests, including the Foundation Skills Assessment.
ON THIS SCORE I AM LAZY. THIS ANALYSIS HAS TAKEN ENOUGH OF MY TIME.
For further information: www.bctf.ca
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