Stand Up To The ATA On Assessments
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) is once again trying to stand between parents and their children’s education.
This time, they’re upset about parents being told how their young kids are doing in reading and math.
Last week, the Province announced they will be phasing in mandatory screenings in literacy and numeracy twice a year.
By September of 2026, they plan to apply these screenings to all students from Kindergarten through Grade 5.
Importantly, these screenings do not count towards or against the children’s marks.
The assessments are designed to help schools and parents check early and often for kids who need extra help in these foundational skills.
Just like the fire drills kids practice at school, it’s best to know whether a student’s reading and math instruction is working before their proverbial schoolhouse is on fire.
It has been well established, by many studies, across the globe, that early screening and frequent assessment of young children’s literacy and numeracy is essential.
Studies also show that if a child isn't reading by the end of Grade 3, they will usually face significant academic hurdles for the rest of their life.
But, all too often, parents are left in the dark, because school boards have refused to implement effective screening and reporting mechanisms to catch this early enough.
Moreover, the parents’ elected representatives - school trustees - usually have no idea where the youngest kids stand in reading and math without screenings and the data they provide.
Yet the Alberta Teachers’ Association opposes the collection of even the most basic information needed to assess whether education is truly occurring.
The ATA also claims that parents oppose knowing more about our kids' education.
Ludicrous, we know, but that’s their claim!
In fact, the ATA is so opposed to this plan that they have intentionally misled the public about what is being proposed, making it sound like these screenings are high-stakes standardized tests of the sort that affect a student’s marks.
That’s why it’s crucial for parents, who have no other interest in education than to see that our children receive one, to stand up and demand the information we need to prevent educational disaster.
But, why would the ATA oppose this, you ask?
Well, the ATA agrees that there is a problem, but their solution - as always - is to just throw more money at it.
The ATA’s alternative proposal is for the government to just write a blank check to schools, with no accountability, and no plan for why this extra money would lead to different outcomes.
The ATA also beats their usual drum of class sizes.
We’ve written about this idea before, but as a reminder, it was a Progressive Conservative Premier, elected with a lot of help from the ATA, who began the Alberta Class Size Initiative.
That program, which followed the exact policies the ATA advocate for, spent $3.4 billion of your money to try to reduce class sizes.
The result?
Class sizes increased.
To repeat - the ATA have already had a chance to implement exactly the policy they want, and it had the complete opposite effect than what they claimed it would.
Of course, we could have told you that was what would happen!
The ATA’s proposals are outdated, and have been repeatedly proven to be ineffective.
There are, however, two things that are proven to get results: accountability and incentives.
Schools must be accountable to parents and their elected representatives.
Elected representatives must be accountable to parents and schools to provide the needed support.
Rather than listen to the ATA and backtrack, the Province should go further and give parents more information.
If parents were given examples of grade-level reading, writing, and math along with the results of these essential literacy and numeracy screenings, we would be empowered.
Empowered to have a common basis to discuss our children’s progress with schools.
Empowered to partner with schools to advance children's skills.
Empowered to hold schools accountable for their role in teaching our children the basics.
Who could be against all that?
Ah, yes, we almost forgot - the ATA.
They want the Province to scrap this plan and withhold this information from parents.
The Province must not give in to the ATA.
It's time we empower parents with accurate information about our own kids’ education.
If you agree, please sign our petition to Stand Up To The ATA On Assessments.
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The results obviously would need to be taken with a grain of salt in relation to student challenges and class demographics, but they would provide information parents can use to help their kids, which should reduce the load on the teachers.