• Fourth Annual Summer Assessment Development Workshop

  - Edmonton

November 12th - 14th

• Fourth Annual Fall Conference
  - Edmonton

November 12th - 12:00 noon

• Annual General Meeting

  - Edmonton

What's Our Purpose?

• to develop a broad range of assessment materials that:
  are directly tied to the Alberta curriculum, are based on grade level standards, and will enhance student learning;
• support teachers by providing opportunities for quality staff development;

• facilitate networking and sharing of knowledge, skills and expertise; and

• establish liaisons with other agencies

What is clear is the so-called 'big tests' . . . the standardized tests, in their current form, generally fail to support the primary aim of assessment. The place of the big tests is a regular part of educational debate across North America. As reported in the Canadian publication, Preparing for the Future, Data Based Edutrends, some unusual opponents of standardized testing are emerging:

The President of the Academy of Sciences, Bruce Alberts, argues that these tests lead to:

• a focus on memory and word association which are poor judges of a student's ability
• a concentration on preparing students to be good test takers, but not good thinkers
• students uninterested in studying science and lacking the most basic science skills
• the closing of doors to the study of science by many students who are excellent students - often female - but are turned off by this form of testing, and
• usage of functions beyond the limits of their original crude selection purpose.

Research conducted by Wendy Williams (wmw5@cornell.edu) and Robert Sternberg of Cornell and Yale Universities compared student scores with their later accomplishments. They have concluded that:

• with one small exception, there is no link between scores and later accomplishments
• the only link of scores with accomplishments is a slight correlation with male first year (university) grades.

There is a campaign for major changes in assessment practices in public schools, colleges and universities. Look for:

• reformatting multiple choice tests to include open ended student responses to questions,
• increased student hands-on demonstrations
• large scale tests with fewer questions . . . a higher percentage requiring interpretation skills and less memorization of information.

Be assured that the Alberta Assessment Consortium will continue to advocate student assessment practices that "foster learning of worthwhile academic content for all students".

Robert B. Hogg, Chairman

4th Annual Fall Conference on Student Assessment
Make a note on your calendar for November 12th to 14th - those are the dates for our 4th annual Fall Conference on Assessment. It is being held in Edmonton at the Crowne Plaza this year and more details on speakers will be available later in February on our website (www.aac.ab.ca) and via posters and brochures mailed out to schools. Last year's conference in Calgary was a great success, with over 250 educators attending. This year's conference coincides with the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, so booking your accommodations before the end of June would be a good idea!

Summer Assessment Development Workshop
(August 17th to 21st)
If you're looking for an opportunity to get together with colleagues from across Alberta and learn more about student assessment while developing assessment material in a relaxed yet stimulating environment, come to our 4th annual Summer Assessment Development Workshop in August. Our past three workshops have been extremely positive and valuable experiences for all attending. Application forms will be available in March. Watch our website!

Orders for Assessment Material Binders
The editing process on the new material developed at last summer's workshop has just been completed and we're now taking orders for paper copies of all the assessment material developed over the last 4 years. The following prices represent our cost of materials only, and include $5 for shipping (GST is not applicable):
Volume One: Elementary Science, Math and Language Arts - $57 each
Volume Two: Junior High Math, Language Arts & Humanities - $25 each
Volume Three: High School Course Challenge materials in Biology, CALM, Chemistry, English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Employability Skills - $54 each
French Volume One: FSL, French Immersion - Language Arts, Elementary Math en Francais and Science en Francais - $30 each.

If you purchased a binder last year and would just like the new material only to add to it, this is available at the following costs:
New Elementary Material: $18
New Junior High Material: $9
New High School Course Challenges: $9
Order through our website (after February 15th) or call or fax in your order.

CD-ROM and Website Access of All Material
We're in the process of putting all our assessment material on a CD-ROM that you can order for only $20. This should be ready sometime in February and you can use our online order form to order. You'll also be able to download assessment tasks from our website (www.aac.ab.ca) soon too! The strands/topics for each assessment task will also be listed so you can more easily find what you need. A password will be required to access these materials, which will be obtainable from your district AAC representative by the end of February - click here to see below if you do not know who your representative is.

A Framework for Student Assessment
We are now in the third printing of this booklet that so many educators have found most valuable. You can view the material contained in this booklet by visiting our website. Copies can be ordered using the online order form at a cost of $3.00 each.

Communicating and Reporting Student Learning Framework
The Alberta Assessment Consortium is working with a team from Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division to develop a framework document that will provide useful information for teachers and administrators on reporting and communicating student learning. This document will be available by September. If anyone has any material or references to offer, please contact Doug Knight.

Joint Research Project on Student Assessment
The Consortium is working with Dr. Nola Aitken from the University of Lethbridge on a research project on student assessment in Alberta. The research team consists of Drs. Joanne Tranter, Darlene Montgomery, Nola Aitken and Doug Knight. The research will be conducted this spring, with a report expected by the fall. A selection of teachers from across Alberta will be contacted to provide us with data. The research proposal will be available on our website when complete.

In-Service on Assessment
Planning an in-service day or institute on student assessment? Need some help finding speakers or planning the workshop? Contact us for information, or let us help you share your plans with other Consortia members.

Excerpts From the CRESST Line Newsletter
A Letter From the Future by Robert Glaser and Gail Baxter:

• ...At the present time (the 21st century), adaptable, and what we call optimizing learning environments pervade the design of educational systems. Assessments, in this context, are valued for their utility in facilitating constructive adaptations of instruction and learning opportunities.
• Evidence must be produced to demonstrate that changes in assessment result in classroom activities that are conducive to the improvement of student learning.
• The exclusionary aspects of testing are diminished; assessment are designed to survey possibilities for student growth, rather than to designate students as not ready to profit from instruction . . .
• Theories relevant to the assessment of achievement emphasize the acquisition of knowledge and skills, the related cognitive abilities, and learning changes in these competencies.
• Assessment concentrates on helping the learner and teacher recognize different states of knowing.

A study conducted by CRESST researchers Joan Herman, Davina Klein, and Sara Wakai discovered that students found alternative assessment questions in mathematics more interesting and challenging than multiple choice questions and that students tried harder on such items. They also found that students recognized that open-ended questions required them to think harder, explain their thinking, and communicate their understanding of mathematics.

AAC Members And Their
Representative
Our membership is by jurisdiction and any schools belonging to the following jurisdictions would therefore be part of our membership:

Alberta Teachers' Association - Gordon Thomas

Northern Lights School Division - Richard Welsh

Calgary Board of Education - Darlene Montgomery

Palliser Regional School Division - John Darroch

Edmonton Public Schools - Dale Armstrong

Parkland School Division - Harry Wagner

Elk Island Public Schools - Diana Millard

Peace River School Division #10 - Robin Webster

Fort McMurray Catholic Schools - Lea Belter

Pembina Hills Regional Division - Colleen Symyrozum-Watt

Fort McMurray School District #2883 - Les Hanson

Red Deer Catholic Board of Education - Don Dolan

Grande Prairie School District #2357 -Wes Brooks

Rocky View School Division #41 - Mel Sly

Grande Yellowhead School Division - Judy Grigat

St. Albert Protestant Board of Education - Robert Hogg

Greater St. Albert Catholic Reg. Div. - Marc Prefontaine

Sundance Catholic Separate Reg. Div. #10 - Bernie McCracken

High Prairie School Division #48 - Rene St. Andre

Wetaskiwin Regional Division - Tom Davidson

Horizon School Division - Paul Stevenson

Wild Rose School Division - Al Sehn

Lethbridge School District - Mal Clewes

Wolf Creek Regional Division #32 - George Mackenzie

Livingston Range School Division - Ken Lorenz

Yellowknife Education District #1 - Roland Ledoux

Medicine Hat Public School District - Joanne Stickle

To order any of the Assessment Materials discussed in this newsletter, click here to visit our online order form.

Does your school have a web page? Would you like to link to our website? If you're interested, give us a call or e-mail us at: info@aac.ab.ca

| back to 'newsletters' |