INNISFAIL - Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) will be working closely with its teachers to ensure they have support and resources needed to conduct new numeracy and literacy screening of kindergarten students, says superintendent Kurt Sacher.
The division also intends to seek out and listen to teacher input during the process, he said.
“Our position on the testing of our primary students is that we really do need to be mindful of the professional judgment of the teachers,” Sacher told the Albertan. “We need to be respectful of the professionalism of our primary teachers.
“We are interested in making sure that their voices are carefully considered when we move forward with that sort of assessment practice.
“And we also need to be mindful the cumulative effect of the different assessment expectations. We just always want to make sure that our teachers are supported when we add expectations like that.”
Alberta Education announced last month that screening already underway for Grade 1, 2 and 3 students was being expanded to kindergarten students starting this month.
Testing of kindergarten students has now started in CESD schools, he said.
“It’s been a challenge definitely for many of our primary teachers with the additional expectation for assessments, so we are working hard to make sure that our teachers have supports to be able to conduct those assessments,” he said.
“In many cases they need additional time to be able to do that, so we are trying to be creative and helpful and supportive. The teachers are trying to build relationships with students and we just need to be really considerate of additional testing expectations.”
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has said that the screening will indicate to teachers, educational staff and parents where a child’s numeracy and literacy skill are and if they may need follow-up help.
Last week the 46,000-member Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) voiced concerns with the new assessment testing of kindergarten students.
“The tests are detrimental to students’ budding relationships with learning, put more pressure on teachers and school administrators, and cut into valuable instruction time,” ATA president Jason Schilling said in a release.
“These assessments cause stress and anxiety, especially for younger students whose developmental levels and learning rates vary greatly.”
The ATA is calling on Alberta Education to “rethink its approach to assessment,” he said.
The province is providing school authorities $10 million for the 2024-25 school year in literacy and numeracy support funding, said minister Nicholaides.
Kathleen Finnigan, superintendent of the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) division did not immediately return an Albertan request for comment.
The 11,000-student CESD is headquartered in Innisfail and has schools across the region, while the 10,400-student RDCRS includes schools in Innisfail and Olds.
