Provincial Achievement Testing

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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

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Provincial tests help schools

• monitor student progress in relation to school
  achievement targets
• improve classroom instructional processes by
  identifying relative strengths and weaknesses
• develop action plans to increase student
  understanding in specific areas of the curriculum

• Benefits

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Provincial tests tell Albertans

• how well Alberta students are learning the
  Alberta curriculum
• which areas of the curriculum need improvement

• Benefits

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Achievement Tests - Grade 3
English Language Arts
Part A - Writing
70 minutes
May
Part B - Reading
June
60 minutes
Mathematics
Timed Number Facts
May
6 minutes
Multiple Choice
June
60 minutes
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Achievement Tests - Grade 6
English Language Arts
Part A - Writing
120 minutes
May
Part B - Reading
June
60 minutes
Mathematics
Operations and Number Sense
May
30 minutes
Multiple Choice
June
60 minutes
Science
Multiple Choice
June
60 minutes
Social Studies
Multiple Choice
June
60 minutes
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Achievement Tests - Grade 9
English Language Arts
Part A - Writing
120 minutes
May
Part B - Reading
June
75 minutes
Mathematics
Multiple Choice
June
90 minutes
Science
Multiple Choice
June
75 minutes
Social Studies
Multiple Choice
June
75 minutes
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Achievement Tests - French
French Language Arts Grade 6
Partie A Production écrite
120 minutes
May
Partie B - Lecture
June
60 minutes
French Language Arts Grade 9
Parite A Production écrite
May
120 minutes
Partie B - Lecture
June
75 minutes
Students in Francophone and French Immersion
programs write the French language arts tests in
addition to the English language arts tests.
These students also write the translated versions
of the mathematics, science and social studies
tests.
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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

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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

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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

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Teacher involvement

• writing, revising and reviewing questions
• setting standards
• developing scoring guides
• field testing
• validating the tests
• administering the tests
• marking the tests

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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

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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

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Sample Question Grade 3 Mathematics
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Sample Question Grade 3 Mathematics
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Sample Question Grade 3 Mathematics

• Core Learning Outcomes
• estimating mass
• using a standard unit (kg)

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Sample Question Grade 6 Science
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Sample Question Grade 6 Science
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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

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Sample Question Grade 9 Social Studies
From Clewson, Elmer U. Our Economy How It
Works. Menlo Park, Calif. Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, 1980. Used on the Internet
with permission of Dr. Elmer U. Clawson.
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Sample Question Grade 9 Social Studies
From Clewson, Elmer U. Our Economy How It
Works. Menlo Park, Calif. Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, 1980. Used on the Internet
with permission of Dr. Elmer U. Clawson.
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Sample Question Grade 9 Social Studies
From Clewson, Elmer U. Our Economy How It
Works. Menlo Park, Calif. Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, 1980. Used on the Internet
with permission of Dr. Elmer U. Clawson.

• Core Learning Outcome
• Interpreting information to determine the main
  idea.

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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

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School Results Grade 3
School Targets SchoolResults 2004 ProvincialResults
English Language Arts Acceptable 90.2
Excellence 16.7
Mathematics Acceptable 89.2
Excellence 29.9

• Results

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School Results Grade 6
School Targets SchoolResults 2004 ProvincialResults
English Language Arts Acceptable 87.0
Excellence 17.0
Mathematics Acceptable 86.2
Excellence 23.3
Science Acceptable 88.3
Excellence 28.8
Social Studies Acceptable 86.4
Excellence 21.7

• Results

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School Results Grade 9
School Targets SchoolResults 2004 ProvincialResults
English Language Arts Acceptable 88.9
Excellence 14.2
Mathematics Acceptable 75.4
Excellence 21.5
Science Acceptable 75.2
Excellence 13.6
Social Studies Acceptable 82.6
Excellence 22.6

• Results

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Next Steps School Councils and School Staff

• What are the strengths of our instructional
  programs?
• What are the areas requiring improvement?

• Discussion

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Next Steps School Councils and School Staff

• What trends in achievement test results can we
  identify for our school over the past five years?
  
• What factors could be contributing to our
  students performance?

• Discussion

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Next Steps School Councils and School Staff

• What are our school achievement targets for this
  year?
• What plans can we develop to address the areas
  requiring improvement and to help students to do
  their best?

• Discussion