Eighty-three per cent of B.C. teachers decided, many under protest, to follow the recommendation of the Labour Relations Board to end their boycott of administering the foundation skills assessment (FSA).
Denis Fafard, president for the Sunshine Coast Teachers' Association, said while teachers are giving the FSA, support to end the FSA is growing."We know there are many parents in the district who disagree with the FSA," Fafard said. "There has been a clear change in public opinion."
The annual test administered to grades 4 and 7 students is a ministry assessment and does not contribute to children's marks. And to the dismay of educators and school boards, the results have been used by the Fraser Institute to rank schools.
In their Jan. 27 letter to Minister of Education Shirley Bond, School District No. 46 (SD46) board of trustees objected to schools identification being made public.
"The Fraser Institute rankings, by inaccurately inflating snapshot-style assessments and by encouraging and casting doubt on more comprehensive and legitimate forms of assessment, are presenting an obstacle to our own ability to communicate achievement, improvement and accountability to the public," stated school board chair Silas White.
Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C Teachers' Federation told The Province newspaper last week the decision to end the boycott did not mean that teachers in all districts would be administering the FSA.
"There are some boards that have chosen to honour the professional autonomy of teachers and said we will not direct teachers to administer the test," she said.
At the same time, some district superintendents issued letters of direction to teachers and Lanzinger advised those educators to administer the FSA "under protest" to avoid any disciplinary action.
Deborah Palmer, superintendent for SD46, said teachers are moving ahead with a pre-test and will then administer the FSA. "Know that our intent of the pre-test was to ensure that students were comfortable with the electronic component," Palmer said. Staff wanted to ensure that children understood how to scroll down on screens and open more than one screen at a time before going into the computer lab for the actual test. Palmer said administrators are assisting their teachers with all aspects of the FSA.
Fafard said more than 20 students' parents have requested they be exempted from the FSA, a marked increase from previous years.
