INNISFAIL - Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) administrators will be examining Alberta Education plans to increase screening of kindergarten to Grade 5 students on foundational literacy and numeracy skills, says superintendent Kurt Sacher.
The 11,000-student, Innisfail-headquartered division wants to make sure its teachers, already dealing with implementing new curriculum, are not overburdened by the new requirements, he said.
“We need to recognize that wherever you implement new testing, new curriculum, there is a cumulative burden placed on our teachers,” Sacher told the Albertan.
“One of the things we are going to want to look at carefully is what is required of our teachers and how we can support them. We feel as though they are already working extremely hard and we want to be really careful not to overburden our teachers.
“It’s important for people to realize that our teachers and our staff are being asked to implement a pretty significant curriculum transition, so with adding additional testing expectations, we are going to need to be really careful that we are not overburdening our teachers, who are working very hard for our students.”
Announced last week, the new screening tools for young learners are being implemented over the next two years, beginning with kindergarten students next school year.
Under the new requirements, students in grades 1 to 3 will be assessed twice a year, with students receiving extra support being assessed a third time in June of each school year.
In January 2025, early literacy and numeracy screening will be introduced for kindergarten students, followed by new screening requirements for grades 4 to 6 starting in September 2026.
The new early grades assessment framework was developed with input from school authorities, academic experts and other stakeholders, according to Alberta Education.
Under the plan, school authorities, including at CESD, will be provided with a list of approved assessments for staff and will have the autonomy to select the screening an assessment tools needed to support their students.
“These literacy and numeracy skills are the foundation for living, working and succeeding in our modern world,” said Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides.
“These additional assessments will tell teachers, schools and parents about potential learning issues and better position them to support students.”
CESD superintendent Sacher said the detailed screening of kindergarten students will be something new in CESD.
“There are different assessments that have been used for years to assess students at that age level, but these are pieces that we need to become more familiar with to see what the government is really attempting to do there,” said Sacher.
The timelines set by the government of the new testing should be workable for CESD, superintendent Sacher said.
“We will need to assess the impact, what is the expectation,” he said. “We are just now getting information about this expanded program and we will have to take a look at it.”
Meanwhile, the 46,000-member Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) is not pleased with the government’s plans.
“When so many kids are falling through the cracks, we need to be giving them a safety net instead of measuring how fast they’re falling,” said association president Jason Schilling.
“Teachers don’t need a test to identify which students are struggling; they need smaller classes and more supports to get this kids additional help.”
The new testing regime will use up teacher time and energy that could be better spent, he said.
“All this is being foisted on the same teachers who are still trying to implement new curriculum across multiple grades and subject areas,” he said.
Kathleen Finnigan, superintendent of Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools division did not immediately response to a request for comment.
