The union representing Nanaimo teachers is once again voicing its opposition to Foundation Skills Assessment testing.
The Nanaimo District Teachers’ Association and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation have long opposed the provincially required standardized tests because of the pressure for high scores, results used to rank schools, and the amount of time spent on the tests, going so far as to take out advertisements suggesting parents request their children be exempted from testing.
Teachers’ association president Mike Ball said while fewer students tested does decrease statistical accuracy of results, the union’s main concerns revolve around results used for right-wing think tank Fraser Institute’s annual school rankings.
“The way the Fraser Institute actually calculates the data is completely and utterly statistically inappropriate,” said Ball. “They double count zeroes, they count a zero as a score and they count it again if a person didn’t write. There’s so much wrong with the way they handle it that the rankings absolutely mean nothing.”
Nanaimo school district spokeswoman Donna Reimer said while there are usually some parents requesting exemption every year, the Ministry of Education dictates withdrawal can only occur due to unforeseen and extremely disruptive circumstances that are beyond the student’s control. Students who are developmentally or physically disabled or don’t have a good enough grasp of English can be excused as well.
“We explain the ministry requirements to the parent and go over the reasons for exclusion permitted by the ministry,” Reimer said. “If the reason the parent is making the request is in line with the ministry guidelines, the request is granted.”
She said it would be difficult to link absences to skills assessment avoidance as schools test on different days and there are absences due to the illnesses at this time of year.
Since the skills assessment is required by the ministry, the school board stance reflects that of the province. The board is also against the Fraser Institute rankings, according to Reimer.
“The board has just passed a motion that asks that the results not be provided to the Fraser Institute and that is [its] big concern, is the way that the results are used,” Reimer said.
The annual tests are being administered to Grade 4 and 7 students across the province until Feb. 21, examining reading comprehension, writing and numeracy.