provincial tests tell parents: how their child compares against provincial standards whether the...
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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 - Writing 70 minutes May
Part B - Reading June
Mathematics Timed Number Facts May
Multiple Choice June
60 minutes
6 minutes
60 minutes
English Language Arts
Achievement Tests - Grade 6
Part A - Writing 120 minutes
May
Part B - Reading June
Mathematics Operations and Number Sense May
Multiple Choice June
60 minutes
30 minutes
60 minutes
English Language Arts
ScienceMultiple Choice June60 minutes
Social Studies
Multiple Choice June60 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
Sample Question – Grade 3 Mathematics
Sample Question – Grade 3 Mathematics
Core Learning Outcomes
estimating mass
using a standard unit (kg)
Sample Question – Grade 6 Science
Sample Question – Grade 6 Science
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 Targets
SchoolResults
2005Provincial
Results
English Language Arts
Acceptable 93.0% 91.1%
Excellence
Below Acc.
9.3%
7.0%
18.0%
8.9%
Mathematics Acceptable 95.3% 88.5%
Excellence
Below Acc.
16.3%
4.7%
29.0%
11.5%
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.
School Results – Grade 6
Results
School Targets
SchoolResults
2005Provincial
Results
English Language Arts
Acceptable
90.5% 85.9%
Excellence
Below Acc.
4.8%
9.5%
17.2%
14.1%
Mathematics Acceptable
90.5% 85.7%
Excellence
Below Acc.
19.0%
9.5%
19.9%
14.3%
Science Acceptable
85.7% 88.1%
Excellence
Below Acc.
19.0%
14.3%
29.2%
11.9%
Social Studies Acceptable
81.0% 87.2%
Excellence
Below Acc.
4.8%
19.0%
24.4%
12.8%
Participation Report
21 students wrote the tests
-4 were ESL*
-5 were Special Education*
-13 were regular students
*Some students were double coded
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
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
Areas requiring improvement
*Math-number concepts
i.e. fractions, regrouping, decimals
*Social Studies-skills and knowledge
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
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 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
Continued
*Professional development for teachers in Math
*Focused work on writing by bringing in authors
*Purchase of new Social Studies materials
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