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P.E.I. Teachers' Federation says review of student assessments doesn't make grade

The P.E.I. Teachers' Federation has responded to a review of standardized testing used in P.E.I. schools saying the review falls short and doesn't focus on supporting struggling students.

'None of the recommendations focused on the needs of the students that are struggling'

CBC News ·
A red-headed student with a pencil writes at his school desk with other students in a classroom with notices and papers pinned to bulletin boards lining the walls.
The P.E.I. government will continue to use standardized tests to measure student achievement. (Robert MacPherson/AFP/Getty Images)

The P.E.I. Teachers' Federation has responded to a review of standardized testing used in P.E.I. schools saying the review falls short and doesn't focus enough on supporting struggling students.

A consultant's review of standardized testing used in Island schools recommended the province continue the student assessment program in its current format. 

"It's not that we're against assessments but the fact that the supports aren't in place once the assessments are done," federation president Bethany MacLeod told CBC Radio: Island Morning host Mitch Cormier.  

"It's kind of like going to the doctor — finding out you have a broken leg and then being told 'Well I'm sorry we don't have money for a cast, so you just have to go home." 

Students stressed about tests

Critics of standardized testing have argued that since it began in 2007 teachers teach to the test and not for optimal student learning or understanding.

A consultant review of standardized testing use in Island schools has recommended the province continue the student assessment program in its current format. The review was carried out last fall by RMJ Assessment. (Laura Meader/CBC)

MacLeod said nothing new has come of this most recent review.

"The main concern was that none of the recommendations focused on the needs of the students that are struggling in our classrooms," MacLeod said. "We need help in our classrooms and supports."

Stress as a result of the assessments, MacLeod said, is also a big concern.

"Especially from the younger grades we're hearing teachers and parents that their students in Grade 3 are stressed about these exams — and they're not sleeping, they're not eating properly," she said.  

Classroom supports needed

The review recommended bringing back some assessments that had been previously dropped, and for more staff and resources to be put into the assessment program. It said the assessments should continue to be done annually — critics had suggested they be done every two or three years.

Students are tested periodically throughout their education on reading, writing and math skills as part of the provincial assessment process. (Laura Meader/CBC)

MacLeod said resources should be added to classrooms to help students instead of pouring more into the assessment program.  

The assessment is "a one-day snapshot" of student's abilities and may be a good way to evaluate gaps within the curriculum, she said, but teachers are the best assessors of a child's academic ability on a day-to-day basis throughout the school year.

"It just doesn't make sense that these assessments are done and it shows there are gaps but there are students struggling and then the teachers have no recourse — no way to help these students because we don't have supports in the classroom," MacLeod said.

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With files from CBC Radio: Island Morning

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