Expanded standardized testing for Alberta elementary students earns a failing grade from teachers

The Alberta government is increasing the number of mathematics and reading assessments elementary students will take each year – a move some teachers say is unneeded and unwanted.

• Get the latest Edmonton updates right to your inbox

The changes, recently emailed to school boards, will begin in the fall and include new standardized testing for children in kindergarten to Grade 3.

Students in grades 1-3 will now be assessed in September and January, with an additional June test for children "receiving extra support."

For the first time in Alberta, kindergarten students will be tested every January starting in 2025.

The Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) held a press conference Thursday to express disappointment with the decision.

"Students as young as five will now be subjected to provincial standardized testing," said president Jason Schilling. "By the time a student leaves elementary school, they will have written as many as 32 standardized exams, up from 10 tests previously."

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the assessments are low intensity and won't affect childrens' grades. He said the tests are meant to help identify which students may be falling behind.

"Literacy and numeracy are the foundations of academic success, of school success and of life success," Nicolaides said. "If we don't get those fundamentals right in those early years, students can struggle."

While the province said the new assessment framework was developed with input from the ATA and other school authorities and academic experts, it doesn't align with what teachers really need, Schilling said.

"This is not what the experts at educational research would suggest," he added. "And it's clear they did not listen to what actual classroom teachers had to say."

Westlock elementary teacher Jenna Thompson said she and her colleagues are already feeling the strain of large class sizes, increasingly complex student needs and the launch of a new curriculum. More tests, she said, will only add more stress.

"I think it's a waste of funding," she said.

Schilling said the new testing is unnecessary and will take away from teaching hours. 

"Teachers don’t need a test to identify which students are struggling; they need smaller classes and more support to get those kids additional help," Schilling said.

"Teachers have been crying out for a reduction in class size that would allow them to provide more individual attention to their students," he continued. "Instead, we get this: More measurement, less investment."

The new framework also includes new screening requirements for Grade 4 and 5 students, which will roll out in 2026.

Nicolaides said $10 million has been set aside in the 2024 budget to help with the expanded assessments.

The ATA promotes and advances public education and supports teachers' professional practice for its 46,000 members from across Alberta public and Catholic schools. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski