'we’ve heard concerns': ucp pauses plan to make high school diploma exams worth 50 per cent - laser measuring tool

After concerns were voiced by voters, the coalition Conservative Party is rethinking its two educational platforms, calling for greater emphasis on standardized testing.
After concerns were voiced by voters, the coalition Conservative Party is rethinking its two educational platforms, calling for greater emphasis on standardized testing.
UCP spokesman Matt Solberg said on Thursday afternoon that the party has suspended its commitment to a high school diploma exam in grade 12 academic courses.
"We have heard the concerns about this, so we will pause," Solberg said . ".
"We will collect more feedback before deciding how to proceed.
"On March 30, 2019, a screen shot of the United Conservative platform file, including the party's intention to add standardized tests to Alberta schools.
Since the introduction of diploma examinations in the province in 1983, these tests have been equivalent to half of the student's final grade.
On 2015, under the pressure of school trustees and the Alberta Teachers Association, the forward step Conservative government reduced the weight of the diploma examination to the final grade of the student, teacher-
Bonus score for the other 70 points.
2012 consultation meeting between Alberta education and high school students found that teenagers liked the consistent standards set by the diploma exam and appreciated preparing for after graduation
Secondary education.
However, they say that the weight of the exam is not proportional, which brings them stress and anxiety and they may fail if they have a bad day.
Lia Daniels, an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Alberta, said that with the pressure of a large number of weighted final exams, it would even be bad for some top students, who know that scholarships can rely on their performance that day to take the exam.
While some may think that a diploma exam can prepare students for a higher exam
Daniels said she could not think of a course worth more than £ 40 for the final exam in her faculty.
"I think it's a good thing to pause," she said of the change in the UCP.
"I think it's a complicated thing.
Level 3 PATs are also under discussion, and the UCP may also modify the plan to re-introduce the provincial grade test (PATs)to eight-year-olds and nine-year-Third grade children.
The party's platform, released last weekend, promised to "bring back the third grade provincial achievement test.
Solberg said: "The candidates have also heard concerns about the proposal.
"Our promise is
"The assessment style of the third grade, but we also recognize the concerns we have heard about the pressure that this will put on children of that age," he said . ".
In 2014, the former PC government was replaced. of-
Assessment of third-grade students (SLAs)
Manage at the beginning of the school year and help teachers identify areas of strength and struggle.
However, the teachers said sla was not so useful in 2017,
David Eggen, minister of education at NDP, chose the sla.
Solberg said the UCP government will hold further consultations with parents, educators and experts on how best to evaluate third-grade students.
"We want an accountability mechanism," he said . "
"It's not necessarily for students because we know that in the third grade it's not passing --fail situation.
What we want is a measurement tool similar to PAT, or a potential PAT, so that we can have an early warning indicator about the progress of children in the learning environment.
The party's vision is to endof-
Solberg said the annual exam for the third grade.
Solberg said the proposal to introduce a new province-wide standardized test of mathematics and literacy in the first, second and third grades is still a hot topic.
He doesn't know how much it will cost for such a new test.
"We have more homework to do in terms of consulting parents, experts and educators," he said . ".
While parents and politicians say they are concerned about the decline in provincial and international test scores in Alberta, this may be partly due to changes in the province's population structure, Daniels said.
The new exam cannot support more and more English.
Language learners and students with disabilities in classrooms in Alberta, Daniels said.
Students in grades 6 and 9 write PATs in mathematics, social studies, science, English and/or French art on June and 9, depending on which program they are participating in. In 2017-
Education in Alberta costs $10.
8 million diploma examination for development, management and marking, $4.
According to the department's annual report, PATs was 6 million and sla was $800,000.
Jfrench @ postmedia.