AAC OFFICE
#500, 11010 - 142 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5N 2R1
Phone: (780) 447-9420
Fax: (780) 447-2531
E-mail: info@aac.ab.ca
Website: www.aac.ab.ca
IMPORTANT DATES
August 1999
5th Annual Summer Assessment Development Workshop - Calgary
October 28th, 1999
Annual General Meeting -
Canmore, Alberta
October 29th & 30th, 1999
5th Annual Fall Conference -
Canmore, Alberta
1998-99 EXECUTIVE
Darlene Montgomery, Chair
Michael Podlosky, Sec/Treasurer
Mal Clewes
Judy Grigat
Les Hansen
Joanne Stickle
Robert Hogg, Exec. Director
Marianne Cadrin
"When the only thing in your toolbox is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail."
AAC MEMBERS AND
THEIR REPRESENTATIVE
Aspen View Regional Div. No. 19
Julian Topolnisky
Alberta Teachers' Association
Michael Podlosky
Calgary Board of Education
Darlene Montgomery
Edmonton Public Schools
Dale Armstrong
Elk Island Public School Reg. Div.
Carolyn King
Fort McMurray RCSS District #32
Lea Belter
Fort McMurray School Dist. #2833
Les Hansen
Fort Vermillion School Div. #52
Ralph Winsor
Grande Prairie School Dist. #2357
Wes Brooks
Grande Yellowhead School Div.
Judy Grigat
Greater St. Albert Cath. Reg. Div.
Steve Bayus
High Prairie School Division #48
Rene St. Andre
Lethbridge School District No. 51
Mal Clewes
Livingstone Range School Div. #68
Ken Lorenz
Living Waters Cath. Reg. Div. #42
Joffre Plaquin
Medicine Hat Public School Dist.
Joanne Stickle
Northern Lights School Division
Richard Welsh
Palliser Regional Division No. 26
John Darroch
Parkland School Division No. 70
Harry Wagner
Peace River School Division No. 10
Robin Webster
Pembina Hills Regional Division
Colleen Symyrozum-Watt
Rocky View School Division #41
Mel Sly
St. Albert Protestant Schools
Joan Alexander
Wetaskiwin Reg. Division No. 11
Tom Davidson
Wild Rose School Division No. 66
Tom Sperling
Wolf Creek Regional Division #72
George Mackenzie
Yellowknife Education District
Judith Knapp
"Don't be so focused that you can't move forward on several fronts."
WHO ARE WE?
AAC is a non-profit partnership of jurisdictions & educational organizations, formed to enhance the quality of student assessment in the classroom. Our membership consists of 27 jurisdictions. We represent roughly 60% of the students in Alberta.
WHAT'S OUR PURPOSE?
to develop a broad range of assessment materials that are directly tied to the Western Canada Protocol, are based on grade level standards, and will enhance student learning;
to support teachers by providing opportunities for quality staff development;
to facilitate networking and sharing of knowledge, skills and expertise; and
to establish liaisons with other agencies
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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of ROBERT HOGG, as the new Executive Director of the Alberta Assessment Consortium, effective January 18th, 1999. For many years now, Robert has been an outstanding educational leader in our province. His teaching career which began 30 years ago in Calgary has embraced every division level, includes a three year teaching assignment in the South Pacific, and stretches from chalk board to technology , and all points in between. Robert has been an administrator of both English and dual track schools and has held several central office positions. He retired earlier this year from his significant responsibilities as Team Leader, Educational Services and Deputy Superintendent of St. Albert Protestant Schools.
Robert's association with the Alberta Assessment Consortium began with its inception five years ago. In a variety of capacities, particularly as chair of the Executive Committee, he has already made a significant contribution to our work. Now, with Robert as Executive Director, we are looking forward to moving ahead with initiatives that will help teachers become more and more accomplished in the assessment process that is integral to teaching and learning. The results of research conducted over many years, published in the October 1998 edition of Phi Delta Kappan, confirm our belief that a teacher skilled in classroom assessment, and who provides ongoing feedback to students, has the most significant impact on student achievement and self-esteem.
One of our goals is to create assessment tools that can be used by teachers and students all through the year, in all subject areas. The Alberta Assessment Consortium is also committed to creating and encouraging high quality professional development programs for teachers. We believe that these two goals compliment each other.
This is a very exciting time for the Alberta Assessment Consortium. At our recent Planning Conference, we celebrated the goals we have achieved to date. We are optimistic about the future, for opportunities abound and our foundation is strong. We will be seeking partnerships with educational institutions and businesses. We will become stronger through those associations, and through links forged among inter-provincial communities.
Your continuing support is important to us. With your help, we will continue to chart the Consortium's course along the leading edge, developing assessment materials and professional learning opportunities of the highest quality. We will also be encouraging others to take the journey with us. To this end, please share news of this exciting appointment among your colleagues. And be sure not to miss the feature items that will soon be coming your way, via mail, e-mail or web site, under the signature of our new Executive Director, Robert Hogg.
Dr. Darlene Montgomery, Chair
ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE . . .
Our Executive Committee meets four or more times each year to review activities, determine priorities and set or amend policies. In addition to being the AAC representative for their district, they also hold the following positions:
Darlene Montgomery, Chair
Curriculum Specialist - Collaborative Learning Community 3, and
Secondary English Language Arts - Calgary Board of Education
Michael Podlosky, Secretary-Treasurer
Executive Assistant, Professional Development -
Alberta Teachers' Association
Mal Clewes
Deputy Superintendent -
Lethbridge School District No. 51
Judy Grigat
Director of Education -
Grande Yellowhead School Division
Les Hansen
Associate Superintendent,
Fort McMurray School District #2833
Joanne Stickle
Teacher - Crescent Heights High School,
Medicine Hat Public School District
Another important person in our organization is Marianne Cadrin, who has been with AAC for three years now and brings with her a rich background in administration, accounting, and all-around "making it happen" skills.
NEW ASSESSMENT MATERIAL
The new assessment material created at last August's Summer Assessment Development Workshop is now ready for distribution to members. Each member's representative has received updates to add to their existing set of binders, as well as a CD-ROM containing all the material developed over the past five years. This material is also available from our website: www.aac.ab.ca (for members only). All member representatives will soon be receiving membership cards for each teacher in their district. These cards will provide you with a handy reference for the required password and user name that's been set up for your district. Look for new material in the following subjects:
| Elementary |
Language Arts
Math
Science
Technology Outcomes - Language Arts, Social Studies
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| Junior High |
Humanities
Language Arts
Math
Technology Outcomes - Language Arts, Social Studies
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| Senior High |
English 10/13 - Unit Assessments
Pure Math 10 - Unit Assessments and Course Challenge
Science 10 - Unit Assessments
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To help make this material easy for all teachers within our membership to access, we've printed up paper copies (and CD-ROM copies) of all the material which can be ordered by individual schools, at cost. (This material is also available on-line at no cost for members.)
A FRAMEWORK ON COMMUNICATING & REPORTING STUDENT LEARNING
AAC, in conjunction with the Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division, is nearing completion of a resource on communicating and reporting student learning. This resource will provide a synthesis of information on:
- guiding principles of fair reporting practices and grading
- the purpose of grading
- types of reporting practices and criteria to assess their effectiveness
- roles and responsibilities, from educators to students to parents
- a rubric for evaluating school plans for assessment and communication
- communicating and reporting special needs student learning
- issues on grading and reporting student learning
NEW FRAMEWORK
A Framework for Creating Performance-Based Assessments - a practical 'how-to' resource to assist teachers in developing their own performance-based assessment tools and strategies will be developed this year. If you are interested in participating as a member of the development team, contact Marianne Cadrin at (780) 447-9420.
FALL CONFERENCE: 1998 & 1999
November's Fall Conference in Edmonton was a great success! Over 350 educators attended, including folks from Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the North West Territories, and Montana. Both keynotes, Harry Wong and Carol Rolheiser, received rave reviews. Presenters for the 21 break-out sessions did a wonderful job of providing a variety of perspectives on assessing student learning. Thanks to everyone involved for helping make this such a valuable experience. And thank-you to all the educators that attended, for making assessment of student learning one of your priorities!
The planning has begun for this year's conference in the beautiful mountain setting of Canmore, Alberta, with keynotes Anne Davies and Jackie Grennon Brooks. More information will be mailed out to all schools in March, but in the meantime be sure to mark October 29 & 30, 1999 on your calendar. Check our website for the latest available information.
Thank-you to all those who attended last year's conference and completed a conference evaluation form. Your feedback is most valuable and we'll make every effort to incorporate your suggestions into this year's conference.
ANNUAL SUMMER ASSESSMENT
DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
This summer's workshop will be held in Calgary and details on the dates and location will be available in March. Application forms will be provided through your representative to your school in April, as well as on our website. We will be seeking feedback from our members as to which subject areas to focus on this year, so if you have any suggestions, give us a call, or e-mail, or fax. Speaking of which . . .
Effective January 18th, 1999 our
New Fax Number
is (780) 447-2531. |
A BIG WELCOME TO:
FORT VERMILLION SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 52
AND ASPEN VIEW REGIONAL DIVISION NO. 19
We're pleased to welcome aboard the teachers and administrators of these two new member jurisdictions. Ralph Winsor will be the AAC representative for Fort Vermillion and Julian Topolnisky for Aspen View. We'll be working with Ralph and Julian to incorporate their districts' needs in our planning, and look forward to meeting some of their teachers at this summer's workshop.
In the last few months we've received quite a few inquiries on membership with Alberta Assessment Consortium, some from as far away as Florida and Saudi Arabia, thanks to the world wide web. It seems assessment issues are rising to the top of a lot of people's priorities!
THANKS DOUG!
1998 marked the end of a 5-year commitment by Doug Knight to help teachers in Alberta enhance their skills in assessing student learning. We will continue to build on the foundation laid by Doug and are grateful for all his effort and contributions over the past five years. Doug's commitment to education continues with his involvement in projects advancing the use of learning technologies for students K to adult, and with promoting higher-order thinking skills through technology.
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
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