The Foundation Skills Assessment tests are an annual series of reading, writing and math tests intended to give the provincial government a "snapshot" of how students are doing. According to the Ministry of Education, the tests help schools, school planning councils, school districts and the province "evaluate how foundation skills are being addressed and make plans for improvement."
The tests take about four and a half hours. They are mandatory for grades 4 and 7 only. This year is the first for online tests. Some portions are still handwritten. The results do no count for report card grades. Students are ranked as not meeting expectations, meeting expectations or exceeding expectations. The tests cost about $7.50 per student.
Normally, schools have two weeks to complete the tests. This year's deadline has been extended an extra week because of server glitches on the first testing day. The new deadline is Feb. 22.
The Foundation Skills Assessment tests have been around since 1998, and the B.C. Teachers' Federation has been fighting them since 2000. Its local branch, the Burnaby Teachers' Association, has been urging parents to boycott the tests. Union representatives say the tests are too narrowly focused and ignore things like critical thinking, creativity, oral language skills and collaborative work. Testing also creates logistical nightmares for schools with limited computers.
The Fraser Institute, a right-wing think tank, uses the FSA results to rank B.C. schools, an unfair and inaccurate practice according to BCTF and the Burnaby Teachers' Association president, Emily Sutherland. A random sampling of schools would give the same snapshot of how students are doing, Sutherland says. That way, the Fraser Institute can't use the results to rank B.C. schools if only some are tested. Sutherland says the Fraser Institute's ranking creates competition between schools, disheartens those sometimes struggling against great odds and undermines faith in the public school system while favouring privatization - an agenda tied to underfunding the education system.
WORD ON THE FSAs:
Claudio Bortolussi, principal Aubrey Elementary - "It's a snapshot in time. The intent is to get some information about where a child's learning is."
George March, Aubrey Elementary Grade 4 teacher: "One of my kids was in tears yesterday... She was afraid she wasn't going to finish...I think it's too much stress for a nine-year-old."
Sabina Wu, Grade 7, Aubrey Elementary: "Maybe we should do it every other year. It's more work for the teachers."
Priscilla Quan, Grade 7, Aubrey Elementary: "It's kind of a waste of time, but it shows the government your scores."
Is reporter smarter than a Grade 7 student?; So you think you're smarter than a fifth grader? How about a 12-year-old at Burnaby's Aubrey Elementary School? NOW report Jennifer Moreau takes the hotly contested Foundation Skills Assessment test to see what all the controversy is about.
Burnaby Now, Sat 16 Feb 2008
Byline: Jennifer Moreau
The B.C. Teachers' Federation and Burnaby Teachers' Association want to scrap the Foundations Skills Assessment exams and return to randomized sample tests, but the Ministry of Education is keeping them mandatory for all Grade 4 and 7 students.
One of the criticisms from the B.C. Teachers' Federation is that the tests needlessly stress out students, as this reporter can confirm. In the days leading up to the exam, I suffered from pre-test anxiety. Before the big day, my editor questioned how well I did in school. The school district communication manager wished me luck. Even the Ministry of Education spokespersons was worried: "What if you fail?" she asked. It's the same question I asked myself incessantly. And I thought journalism was stressful.
TEST DAY, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 13
6:45 a.m.
I awoke with a startling realization of what I had gotten myself into, but it was too late to back out. I headed to Aubrey Elementary, and apparently word had spread there was a reporter on the FSA trail. A couple of teachers approached me in the hall to share their views, mainly that the tests were a waste of time and the first day was a disaster. The Ministry of Education decided to do the tests online this year, but its server crashed, and the students were stressed. One was reduced to tears, worried she wouldn't finish time time. Great. I can't wait.
9:00 a.m.
I sat down with Ms. Kazuta's Grade 7 class in the computer lab. Another problem, the teachers' union pointed out, is computers. Some schools don't have enough and other students can't use them during testing. But, thanks to Aubrey Elementary's Parent Advisory Council, we had more than enough. I decided to opt for my academic Achilles heel to re-create an authentic elementary experience, complete with a real threat: Grade 7 math. Fortunately, the principal said I could use a calculator.
9:10 a.m.
After fumbling around the Ministry of Education website for a while, I managed to log in for my sample math test while my Grade 7 comrades were already well into their reading tests. I had an hour to complete 40 multiple choice questions and I was already 10 minutes into my test time. I eyed up the competition. They seem calm, bored even, fidgeting in their chairs, clicking their way through the exam.
9:11 a.m.
First question: To earn money for the Fun Fair, Chris mows lawns. To mow a lawn 10 metres by 10 metres takes one hour. About how long will it take to mow a lawn 20 metres by 12 metres? Maybe the question should be: How long does it take a 31-year-old reporter to sketch out a visual representation of a fairly simple mathematical equation?
Being a visual learner, I drew the lawn Chris was mowing, and guessed tow and a half hours - fortunately correct. But my sketches were taking up precious time and the logical and problem solving section of my right cerebrum hadn't kicked in yet. However, about half way through the exam, I noticed a shift in my thinking and I abandoned the vignettes for crude mathematical equations, which sometimes backfired. For example, I concluded I needed 1.9 million centimetres of plastic to cover 32 tents for some brave students sleeping in the snow. (However, 1.9 million was not an option, so I picked the answer that had a 1 and a 9 in it.) Another criticism from the Burnaby Teachers' Association about the online math test is there is no way a teacher can tell where in my bizarre little drawings I went wrong. Tests aren't always just for assessment, they can help teachers understand what students are doing wrong and what to fix. But with an online multiple choice tests, no one would ever know how I came up with 1.9 million centimetres.
9:15 a.m.
I clicked through my questions, which always seemed to be about students or parents raising money for some school activity: "Randy sold two types of cookies at the Fun Fair...."
9:50 a.m.
I checked out my neighbour's screen. He looked 12 years old and was about 14 questions ahead of me. With 10 minutes left to go, I had to hurry or I wouldn't finish. My chest was tight with panic. My mind went blank, and my eyes raced desperately over the screen. I clicked through the rest of the exam, guessing some answers, randomly selecting others.
10:05 a.m.
As the crew of Grade 7s finished and filed out of the computer lab, I clicked "submit" for my results. The good news: I passed. The bad news: I scored 72.5 per cent, a B by provincial standards. I was expecting at least 80 - this is, after all Grade 7. But FSAs don't count for report cards. Students get ranked into three categories: not meeting, meeting or exceeding expectations. Apparently, I am "meeting expectations." Maybe I'll do better next year.