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



Multiple Choice
June
60 minutes
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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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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
SchoolResults 2010 ProvincialResults
English Language Arts Acceptable 86.5 89.5
Excellence 17.6 21.4
Mathematics Acceptable 90 N/A
Excellence 35 N/A
Math percentages calculated from individuals
students results provided by Alberta Learning.

• Results

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Grade 3 Language Arts
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Next Steps

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

• Discussion

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Next Steps

• 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

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

• Discussion