PSAs say YES

BCTF School Staff Alert
2008-09 #8
November 27, 2008

Our Provincial Specialists’ Associations provide a source of support and a vehicle for communication for a wide variety of subject and service areas to teachers throughout the K–12 public education system.

Following their recent meeting, the presidents of all 33 PSAs issued a statement on the Foundation Skills Assessment urging a strong YES vote.

We, the presidents of the Provincial Specialists’ Associations, met and after much discussion and reflection on the Foundation Skills Assessment issue, agreed that a YES vote is important and appropriate.

Following their statement, they gave the following reasons:

• The Foundation Skills Assessment tests do not help teachers teach or students learn.
• They take valuable time and resources away from teaching and learning.
• The FSA results are misused to rank schools based on a very narrow measure and set up a false impression of public schools, teachers, and students.
• The FSA and overuse of standardized testing narrow the curriculum and reduce the opportunities for students to engage in meaningful learning experiences.