In response to the Calgary Herald's editorial, Tory's Motion Desreves to Fail (March 10), Alberta Teachers Association President Frank Bruseker wrote the following letter to the editor which went unpublished.
2009 03 11
Ms Licia Corbella
Editorial Page Editor
The Calgary Herald
215 16th Street SE
Calgary AB AB T2E 7P5
Dear Ms Corbella
Good teachers have a problem with achievement tests, even if the Calgary Herald doesn't. ("Tory's motion deserves to fail," March 10). By insinuating that achievement tests and the Fraser Institute's "analysis" of the results will facilitate improvement, the editorial starts off from a faulty premise and continues down the wrong track.
While teachers concur that "the goal should always be to strive for improvements in public education," we are not convinced that having students bubble in 40 multiple choice questions in an hour or perform 95 calculations in 6 minutes are meaningful assessments that will improve their learning. Provincial achievement tests (PATs) are a one-day snapshot in time and disregard the authentic assessments done by teachers in their classrooms on the remaining 199 days of the school year.
Every day, we see students make discoveries, think critically and express themselves creatively. Yet every year, many of us also see students try to summarize their broad understanding on these narrowly focused tests that divert precious time, energy and resources that should be used in the classroom to actually help students learn and continually improve.
To say "achievement tests measure a school's performance" disregards our schools' mandate to develop citizenship skills, athletic potential, artistic talent, strength of character, technological proficiency and any number of other traits critical for 21st century youth to succeed. For the Fraser Institute to then rank schools on the basis of these results is, in the words of our Minister of Education, " a totally inappropriate way to measure whether you have a good school or good teaching" (Edmonton Journal, March 8).
The issue is not about more or less accountability-it is about meaningful and sensible accountability. Teachers accept their responsibility to be accountable to students, parents and the community. That is why teachers assess learning on an ongoing basis and report regularly on student progress. Student assessment is a key function of teachers' professional practice. But to do their job properly, teachers need the authority and autonomy to perform authentic assessments for learning.
This is why the teaching profession supports alternatives to the Grade 3 PATs that provide accountability and help teachers improve student learning. Teachers advocate for sample testing of students and improved access to relevant diagnostic assessments. This is exactly what Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA and former Grade 3 teacher Genia Leskiw is attempting to accomplish with her motion to replace Grade 3 PATs with alternative assessments for learning. Teachers wholeheartedly support this motion.
Sincerely
Frank Bruseker
President
