-Teachers who do not give tests could be disciplined-
OSOYOOS TIMES-February 4, 2009-
By Karen KnelsenrnOsoyoos Times
School District 53 has decided to share the provincial Education Ministry's view on the controversial Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests and local students in grades four and seven will take the exams later this month.
In December, 85 per cent of the members of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation voted to boycott the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests.
One of the main concerns raised by the teachers is the use of the test results by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian research and educational organization, to rank schools from best to worst across the province.
The ministry and the district argue that the test is based on province-wide curriculum and has a useful purpose, both in the classroom and in the boardrooms.
I think the FSAs do have value to the system, said district Superintendant Juleen McElgunn. I take it seriously. I want to know how our kids are doing.
She also said the FSAs are not the only point of reference used to interpret the effectiveness of teaching styles and how well students are learning.
It's not the only measure but we do use it as one of the measures, she said. It's definitely part of our review.rnIt gives us another way to look at the learning that our kids and our schools are involved in.rnShe said the results of the FSAs help pinpoint areas of potential change to help students learn better.
Ron Rachinski, president of the South Okanagan Similkameen Teachers Union, did make a presentation and a request to the district at the Jan. 28 board meeting asking that they not take disciplinary action against teachers should they choose not to administer the tests.
Teachers had the vote, took the vote and they overwhelmingly supported that motion, he said.
Rachinski added that the FSAs do not help teachers and the pressure to prepare students for the tests, knowing the results will be used to rank their school, takes time and resources away from regular course study.
No one likes to see their school being ranked below another, he said. They prepare for the test. Teachers feel pressured.
If you test certain things, teachers are going to teach certain things.
McElgunn said the material being tested in the FSAs is wholly curriculum based and as such shouldn't require extra study.
But that wasn't the only problem Rachinski had with the test.
He said it's unfair to rank schools based on numeracy and literacy skills alone.
Teachers believe that the FSA is a very narrow measure of all the things that go on in our schools.
Rachinski said the use of the results to rank schools in B.C. could have a negative effect on enrolment, adding that parents may use the rankings to choose where they want their child to be schooled.
But McElgunn disagreed “ to a point.
The Minister of Education herself has said she's not comfortable with it, she said, adding that she'd never seen a parent change their direction as to what school their child is going to go attend based on the institute's rankings.
It certainly doesn't change peoples' minds.
McElgunn said she trusts parents to be aware of all aspects of their child's school and to make sound decisions based on all the information and not a single test.
I often wonder if we don't give parents enough credit, she said.
The board did not heed Rachinski's request to exempt teachers from disciplinary action should they follow the union's stand against administering the FSAs.
By law, the board and staff are required to ensure that the FSA is administered, McElgunn said. We expect that teachers will do the work.
And, she said, students in the district's schools have been doing quite well in the rankings.
But Rachinski said he thinks there are other numbers that also deserve attention.
Eighty-five per cent of teachers across this province said that the FSAs are damaging, he said. They can't all be wrong.
We're obligated to do something about it.
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