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

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

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

Achievement Tests - Grade 3 Part A - Writing70 minutesMay Part B - ReadingJune Mathematics Timed Number FactsMay Multiple ChoiceJune 60 minutes 6 minutes 60 minutes English Language Arts

Achievement Tests - Grade 6 Part A - Writing120 minutesMay Part B - ReadingJune Mathematics Operations and Number SenseMay Multiple ChoiceJune 60 minutes 30 minutes 60 minutes English Language Arts Science Multiple ChoiceJune60 minutes Social Studies Multiple ChoiceJune60 minutes

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sample Question – Grade 3 Mathematics

Core Learning Outcomes estimating mass using a standard unit (kg)

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

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

School Results – Grade 3 Results School Results 2006 Provincial Results English Language ArtsAcceptable82.4%89.8% Excellence Below Acc. 17.6% 15.6% 10.2% MathematicsAcceptable82.4%90.2% Excellence Below Acc. 17.6% 30.1% 9.8%

Participation Report 17 students wrote both parts of the test -6 were ESL -1 was Special Education -10 were regular - 3 students were absent - 2 students were excused

School Results – Grade 6 Results School Results 2006 Provincial Results English Language ArtsAcceptable88.4%87.6% Excellence Below Acc. 18.6% 11.6% 17.7% 12.4% MathematicsAcceptable92.7%82.7% Excellence Below Acc. 26.8% 7.3% 17.0% 17.3% ScienceAcceptable95.3%86.7% Excellence Below Acc. 41.9% 4.7% 31.4% 13.3% Social StudiesAcceptable95.5%86.8% Excellence Below Acc. 27.3% 4.5% 25.8% 14.5%

Participation Report 43 students wrote the tests -16 were ESL* - 7 were Special Education -20 were regular students

Next Steps: School Councils and School Staff What are the strengths of our instructional programs? *a three year Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) which focused on Science *student support team that provides ESL support and modified programming *teacher professional development through in- services and workshops with ESL Centre of Inquiry Discussion

What are the areas requiring improvement? *Timed Math Facts in Gr. 3 *Shape and Space *Focus on Perimeter/Area; extending a pattern and statistics in Gr. 6 *Focus on reading narrative and poetic passages in Grade 3 and 6 *Distinguishing and supporting facts vs. opinions in Social Studies Areas for the School to focus on

What factors could be contributing to our students’ performance? *More ESL students *Number of students moving into the school throughout the year Significant Factors

Multi- Year Results – Grade 3 Language Arts N=18 Total Test – Language Arts Acceptable = 16 students (84.2%) Standard of Excellence = 2 students (10.5%) Below Acceptable Standard = 2 students ( 11.1%) N=17 Total Test-Language Arts Acceptable =14 students (63.6%) Standard of Excellence=3 students (13.6%) Below Acceptable Standard=3 students (13.6%)

Language Arts Targets for 2006 An increase of 10% in the number of students at the Acceptable Standard in Reading 2005 there were 13 students out of the 18 students who wrote at the acceptable level ( 72.2%) 2006 –there were 14 students out of the 17 students who wrote at the acceptable level ( 82.4%)

Multi Year Grade 3 Mathematics N= 18 Total Test-Mathematics Acceptable=14 students (77.8%) Standard of Excellence=3 students (16.7%) Below Acceptable Standard = 4 students (22.2%) N=17 Total Test –Mathematics Acceptable=14 students (82.4%) Standard of Excellence =3 students (17.6%) Below Acceptable Standard = 3 students (18.6%)

Multi-Year Results – Grade 6 Language Arts N=68 Total Test – Language Arts Acceptable =62 students (91.2%) Standard of Excellence = 2 students (11.6%) Below Acceptable Standard=6 students (8.7%) N= 43 Total Test – Language Arts Acceptable = 38 students (88.4%) Standard of Excellence =8 students (18.6%) Below Acceptable Standard =5 students (11.6%)

Multi-Year Results – Grade 6 Mathematics N=67 Total Test – Mathematics Acceptable =62 students (89.9%) Standard of Excellence=22 students (31.9%) Below Acceptable Standard= 5 students (7.2%) N=41 Total Test-Mathematics Acceptable =38 students (70.4%) Standard of Excellence =11 students (20.4%) Below Acceptable Standard =3 students ( 5.6%)

Multi-Year Grade 6 Science N=68 Total Test – Science Acceptable=61 students (88.4%) Standard of Excellence=19 students (27.5%) Below Acceptable Standard=7 students (10.1%) N=43 Total Test -Science Acceptable=41 students (95.3%) Standard of Excellence=18 students (41.9%) Below Acceptable Standard =2 students (4.7%)

Science Targets for % of the Gr. 6 students will meet the acceptable standard on the Science test Results – Total Test 41 students (95.3%) ; Knowledge 42 students (97.7%) ; Skills 39 students (90.7%)

Multi-Year Grade 6 Social Studies N=68 Total Test – Social Studies Acceptable =91.3% (63 students) Standard of Excellence=21.7% (15 students) Below Acceptable Standard =7.2% (5 students) N=44 Total Test – Social Studies Acceptable=77.8% (42 students) Standard of Excellence=22.2% (12 students) Below Acceptable Standard =3.7% (2 students)

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

What plans address the areas requiring improvement and help students succeed? *Following the Class Size Initiative *Support in target area of Guided Writing *AISI- staff PD to explore multiple literacies to support the students learnings Future Plans

Future Plans continued *Professional development for teachers in Multiple Literacies *Focused work on writing by bringing in authors *Implementing the Calgary Reads program for our younger students.