I’m sitting in my office this afternoon getting ready for the week ahead. Tomorrow we have all of our school leaders in and I always start with an opening presentation to our Learning Leadership Team. Later in the week, we will gather as a division and I will address our entire staff. Even though I’m well known in …
Tag: Accountability
May 26
No more Provincial Achievement Tests… now what?
There was a barrage of announcements during Education Week from the Education Minister that has the possibility of significant impact on education not only in Alberta but throughout North America. Of particular interest to parents and teachers, especially those teaching grades 3, 6 and 9 was the elimination of the Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) and the creation of a series …
Mar 24
Measuring Learning vs. Measuring Achievement
I want you to reflect on this question, “When was the last time your performance was measured by a written multiple choice test?” There will be few of us who have had our performance measured by a single test in our adult life. Our performance cannot be captured on a single or even a series …
Feb 03
Painting the fence or building a new one!
Alberta Education is involved in a high school flexibility project that is focusing on how learning can be improved outside the Carnegie Unit. The Carnegie Unit was developed from a business point of view and is based on the factory model of education. It was initiated to standardize education. A parallel process in Alberta is …
Feb 26
Provincial Achievement Tests
In the Province of Alberta, students in grades 3, 6, and 9 write Provincial Achievement Tests (PAT’s) on a yearly basis. Grade 3 students write tests in only Language Arts and Mathematics, while students in grades 6 and 9 complete the previous two plus Science and Social Studies. These tests were initially instituted as a …
Jan 13
Accountability in Education
Earlier this year, the Minister of Education, Thomas Lukaszuk, communicated that the provincial government spends 33 million dollars daily to fund education in Alberta. For the average Albertan, that number is staggering and in all likelihood elicits questions like, “Where are they spending that type of money?” or “Why are they spending that amount of money?” These questions …
Dec 11
What’s really important in education?
Like most parents, I remember very clearly the day that our son and our daughter were born. Holding them in my arms that first time, I can guarantee you my first thoughts were not, “I sure hope they do well on their Provincial Achievement and Diploma Exams!” In fact, when I think back to their …