Design Based assessment final blog (4)

An Open Letter to Albertans on Grade 3 Provincial Achievement Tests



To: Premier Jason Kenney, Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange, UCP members of the legislature, and all Albertans,

In recent weeks news outlets have published stories about a letter sent to Alberta superintendents that stated provincial standardized testing is coming back for Grade 3 students in the coming years (French, 2019; Wong, 2019; Konguavi, 2019). This concerns me as an educator, parent, and a second-year Masters of education student at the Werklund School of Education. Data is incredibly important in decision making, and that knowing where a student “is” in their learning journey is valuable to parents, educators and government, yet the standardized testing model does not meet the needs of our learners, parents, and future workforce. 

In order to “keep up” to the current ever-changing world of technology, and the expectations of a future workforce, the traditional education model has become outdated. The traditional testing models that many of us experienced in our own schooling have long been surpassed by the ability of students to acquire information in an instant. The learning that was required, when many of us were in school, was considered acquisition learning, which was learning meant to teach workers of the industrialized world how to work in assembly lines with standardized outputs (Davis, Sumara, & Luce-Kaplar, 2015). This standardized output is no longer relevant in today's ever-changing workforce where changes that were once measured in decades, are now measured in years, months and in some cases weekly or daily (Thomas & Brown 2011). 

Albertan’s today require more than answers on tests, our own government documents of 21st-century learning skills focus on “critical thinking, problem-solving and decision making” (Alberta Education, 2011). Testing acquisition knowledge really does not paint an accurate picture of what we want our students to be or even who they are. It also sets teacher up to teach towards this exam rather than finding ways to engage their learners in the curriculum. 

Another concern with the value of these tests is the additional strain it puts on staff and students. Research continues to show that these tests put more than just a basic strain on the already limited educational resources. Segool et al. (2013) quote multiple sources when stating, “state testing programs have resulted in increased student anxiety, increased stress, lowered motivation, increased focus on test preparation, and increased job stress and lowered job satisfaction for teachers” (Abrams, Pedulla, & Madaus, 2003; Barksdale-Ladd & Thomas, 2000; Jones & Egley, 2004, 2006; Jones et al., 1999; p. 490). Also, elementary students experience “more overall test anxiety and more cognitive and physiological symptoms of test anxiety about high-stakes testing than classroom testing” (Segool, et al., p. 497, 2013). Not only does this high anxiety affect the students well being, but a student experiencing these symptoms are clearly not creating data that is an accurate representation of their learning.

Alberta is an innovative province and in order to meet the needs of our students, we need to examine carefully the true impact of a standardized test that would be implemented, especially at the elementary level. I hope that any test that was implemented would be as innovative as the people who make this province great. There are excellent resources on innovative assessment practices that are available. Many of the sources are in our own backyard, including many who work at our post-secondary educational institutions, teachers with innovative teaching practices and experiences, a variety of styles of teaching in our own system (public, public charter, catholic, and private), worldwide examples and even information from previous work on Alberta’s curriculum and 21st century learning documents. Let’s ensure that parents also have a choice in this matter, engage them with the new models of learning, while understanding that the model they grew up in needs to adapt to meet the needs of our students. Let’s work to create assessments that create the innovative students Alberta so desperately needs.

Riley Ohler

(These views are my own, not that of my employer or educational institutions I attend)

References:
Alberta Education, (2011). Framework for student learning : competencies for engaged thinkers and ethical citizens with an entrepreneurial spirit. Retrieved from http://education.alberta.ca/department/ipr/curriculum.aspx
Davis, B., Sumara, D., & Luce-Kapler, R. (2015). Engaging Minds: Cultures of Education and Practices of Teaching (3rd edn.). New York: Routledge. Retrieved from 
https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/lib/ucalgary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2038974 

French, J. (June 25, 2019). Alberta government will bring back grade 3 provincial achievement tests. Edmonton Journal online. Retrieved from https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/alberta-government-will-bring-back-grade-3-provincial-achievement-tests

Konguavi, T. (June 27, 2019. Teachers slam UCP plan to bring back grade 3 standardized tests. CBC Edmonton online. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-schools-teachers-ucp-standardized-tests-grade-3-1.5192668

Segool, N., Carlson, J., Goforth, A., von der Embse, N., & Barterian, J. (2013). Heightened test anxiety among young children: elementary school students’ anxious responses to high stakes testing. Psychology in the Schools (50)5, 489-499. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/10.1002/pits.21689

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Seattle, WA: Create Space. 

Wong, J., (June 27, 2019). Alberta government bringing back grade 3 standardized testing. Global news online. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/5438403/alberta-ucp-government-grade-3-standardized-testing/ 

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