Learning Opportunities

Part PD session, part forum, this offering addresses a number of complex and contentious issues related to the expectation that teachers assess to “provincial standards”.  Do programs of study, and other ministry documents provide sufficient clarity regarding standards?  Are students held to the same standard no matter where they attend school in the province? What is the appropriate role of standardized provincial assessments in a standards-based educational system?  Are there alternatives to the current 70/30 weighting split between school-awarded grades and diploma examination marks?  What should be the future of PATs and SLAs?  The presenter will provide valuable information on how provincial assessments are designed and scored to reflect and communicate provincial standards.  There will also be discussion on the potential causes for differentiation in school-awarded grades, and the validity of claims that “grade inflation” becoming endemic.  The presenter will argue that formative assessment practices are compatible with the existence of standardized tests, to the point that the success of formative assessment practices can in part be measured by provincial tests.  The session will encourage a healthy and spirited debate about appropriate relationships among teacher-awarded grades, and between teacher-awarded grades and standardized assessments.  On the lighter side, of this heavy topic, the session begins with an egg-weighing competition to help illustrate a number of standard-related issues.  

One lucky participant will take home a dozen free-range eggs as a prize.

This learning opportunity is being offered through a grant from Alberta Education.