Provincial tests tell parents:

2. Provincial tests tell parents: • how their child compares against provincial standards • whether the child is learning what he or she is expected to learn Benefits

3. Provincial tests help schools: • monitor student progress in relation to school achievement targets • improve classroom instructional practices by identifying relative strengths and weaknesses • develop action plans to increase student understanding in specific areas of the curriculum Benefits

4. Provincial tests tell Albertans: • how well Alberta students are learning the Alberta curriculum • which areas of the curriculum need improvement Benefits

5. Achievement Tests - Grade 3 English Language Arts Part A - Writing 70 minutes May Part B - Reading 60 minutes June Mathematics Timed Number Facts 6 minutes May Multiple Choice 60 minutes June

6. Achievement Tests - Grade 6 English Language Arts Part A - Writing 120 minutes May Part B - Reading 60 minutes June Mathematics Operations and Number Sense 30 minutes May Multiple Choice 60 minutes June Science Multiple Choice 60 minutes June Social Studies Multiple Choice 60 minutes June

7. Tips for parents • achievement tests are like any other test • excessive test rehearsals and coaching should be discouraged • one way parents can help their children is by supporting their development of strong reading skills

8. Achievement tests • achievement tests are aligned with the curriculum • the best preparation for achievement tests is classroom instruction based on the full range of learning outcomes in the Alberta curriculum

9. Test accommodations • may include larger print, Braille, audiotapes, a scribe, more time • help students with special test writing needs do their best • are aligned with daily instructional practice as outlined in the individual program plan

10. Teacher involvement • writing, revising and reviewing questions • setting standards • developing scoring guides • field testing • validating the tests • administering the tests • marking the tests

11. Use of test results • no single test can assess everything • large scale provincial testing is intended for use in conjunction with classroom assessment strategies • the clearest picture of student growth and development is gained when a wide variety of assessment information is considered

12. Report cards • the teacher is responsible for classroom assessment • teachers and school jurisdictions decide whether or not to use the results for the students’ final grades

13. Sample Question – Grade 3 Mathematics

14. Sample Question – Grade 3 Mathematics

15. Sample Question – Grade 3 Mathematics Core Learning Outcomes • estimating mass • using a standard unit (kg)

16. Sample Question – Grade 6 Science

17. Sample Question – Grade 6 Science

18. Sample Question – Grade 6 Science Core Learning Outcomes • Air, Aerodynamics and Flight theory • Identify elevators as the structure of an airplane that controls its descent

19. Provincial Expectations – Achievement Tests • Alberta Learning has shifted away from an expectation on achievement tests that 15% of students achieve the standard of excellence and at least 85% achieve the acceptable standard. • emphasis now placed on continuous improvement – comparing results to stated targets and performance over time

20. School Results – Grade 3 Results

21. Participation Report • 43 students wrote both parts of the test • -5 were ESL* • -4 were Special Education* • -36 were regular • *Some students were double coded.

22. School Results – Grade 6 Results

23. Participation Report • 21 students wrote the tests • -4 were ESL* • -5 were Special Education* • -13 were regular students *Some students were double coded

24. Next Steps: School Councils and School Staff • What are the strengths of our instructional programs? *balanced literacy – teacher commitment to guided reading daily *students are higher on informational items due to deliberate purchase of non-fiction resources for guided and home reading *lots of hands-on materials, use of Blanche Lamont resources and purchase of Key Materials for test-taking practice *student support team that provides ESL support and modified programming Discussion

25. What are the areas requiring improvement? *how to retrieve information from a passage i.e. opinion to support a statement character motivation author’s purpose *increased focus on visual literacy i.e. graphic organizers, pictures, graphs and charts to interpret, organize and present knowledge *writing-conventions (Gr. 3) -sentence structure (Gr. 6) -organization and content

26. Areas requiring improvement • *Math-number concepts • i.e. fractions, regrouping, decimals • *Social Studies-skills and knowledge

27. What factors could be contributing to our students’ performance? *More children are writing the test- higher populations in both Grade 3 and 6 *More movement of children into the school especially in Grade 5/6 *More ESL students

28. Next Steps: School Councils and School Staff • What are our school achievement targets for this year? *5% more students will be at the acceptable standard *5% more students will be at the excellence standard Discussion

29. What plans address the areas requiring improvement and help students succeed? *Following the Class Size Initiative *Support in target areas-Guided Reading and Guided Writing *AISI- staff PD to explore most effective ways of using inquiry to improve student achievement *casino money used to purchase home reading materials, to sponsor an artist in residency and to purchase Blanche Lamont materials

30. Continued • *Professional development for teachers in Math • *Focused work on writing by bringing in authors • *Purchase of new Social Studies materials