Back in December, the Alberta government announced enhanced literacy and numeracy screening tools for kindergarten through Grade 5 students which start this month. The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has now shared its thoughts on the recent changes.
ATA president Jason Schilling explained this is the first time in Alberta's history that teachers are now mandated to test kindergarten students
"It's a move that has teachers across the province scratching their collective heads and questioning the purpose, value and timing of these tests for our youngest students."
According to the province, the initiative aims to identify young learners needing additional support in developing foundational literacy and numeracy skills.
The new screening measures include consistent assessments for kindergarten students across the province and the existing twice-yearly screenings for students in Grades 1 to 3 that began in fall 2024.
Schilling also believes these assessments cause stress and anxiety, especially for younger students whose developmental levels and learning rates vary greatly.
“These screening assessments will divert precious time and energy from providing kindergarten students with a foundation that sets them up for lifelong learning.”
The government invested $10 million in literacy and numeracy support funding for the 2024-25 school year. According to the province, the funding will help school authorities access resources, including tutorial videos, lesson plans, and activities tailored to different grade levels.
Schilling believes the government needs to refocus its efforts on funding public education and supporting teachers by providing the necessary resources to address students’ unique and diverse needs.
"By this time in the school year, teachers already know which students are struggling on their day-to-day activities, as well as based on teachers own classroom assessments."
He explained that teachers are losing an estimated three to five days testing individual students inside of the classroom, time that could be spent on learning, collaboration and play.
"Teachers from across the province tell me that one child takes up to 30 minutes to assess in a typical classroom that has 30 students, several kindergarten teachers in the public school system say that the screening assessments will divert precious time and energy from providing kindergarten students the foundation that sets them up for lifelong work."
As the professional association representing educators, the Alberta Teachers' Association supports the professional practice of educators, advocates for its 46,000 members, and advances public education.
Sign up to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon.
Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@centralalbertaonline.com.
CentralAlbertaOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the CentralAlbertaOnline app.