New standardized tests for Kindergarten students ‘not helpful,’ says professor

Marynowski, however, feels the SDAT for Kindergarten students are only useful for “governmental and oversight perspectives” and does little to help students, teachers or parents.

“The teachers that I surveyed and interviewed found that the information that they were getting was not helpful to their teaching practice. It didn’t supplement information that they already knew from working with the students,” says Marynowski.

She told Pattison Media that the tests mainly focus on literacy and numeracy.

Some examples of how students as young as five would be tested include identifying particular numbers on a line, identifying how many dots represented a specific digit, and simple addition.

Marynowski says children in Kindergarten are unfamiliar with tests, so even if they might have a general understanding of the problem being presented to them, they might struggle to give proper answers on a test. Also, since Kindergarten and preschool are not mandatory in Alberta, some young learners may have never been in a classroom before.

“There’s quite a range of experiences and understandings that kids bring into kindergarten, and they’re not really expected to bring in anything,” she adds.

A better way for governments or parents to see how a child is progressing, according to Marynowski, is to ask the teachers.

“The teachers know their students very well. Particularly in the kindergarten level, they’re very in tune with their students, and so simply asking them might be a better use of all sorts of time and money,” Marynowski says.

Marynowski’s analysis was done in partnership with the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA).

ATA President Jason Schilling says, rather than forcing Kindergarten teachers to administer tests that their students might not be prepared for, he would rather see the Government of Alberta focus on providing the necessary resources to address the unique needs of young learners.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicholaides provided the following statement to Pattison Media in regard to the comments by Marynowski and the ATA:

“The ATA’s characterization of these tools as standardized tests is wrong and misleading. Rather, these are screeners that gauge a students literacy and numeracy strengths. I’m really unsure why anyone would object to giving our teachers every possible tool to help their students.

These screeners are grounded in scientific research, developed right in Alberta by academics at the University of Alberta. These quick screeners can accurately identify 95% of students who will later develop reading difficulties.

I am confident that parents would appreciate these insights and I’m further confident that teachers and schools would benefit from knowing which learners need more help.

Our government will always be focused on improving student learning and these tools are an example of our commitment. Numerous studies from around the world show that students who start school with weaker reading skills run a higher risk of falling behind their peers and staying behind and I want to make sure every student has the greatest possible strength in reading, writing and math.”

by David Opinko

New standardized tests for Kindergarten students ‘not helpful,’ says professor

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