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Province to begin testing new K-4 curriculum

Dec 15, 2018 | 7:15 AM

EDMONTON ––  Teachers across the province will begin field testing the new curriculum from kindergarten to Grade 4.

Education Minister David Eggen made the announcement in Edmonton Friday morning, allowing teachers to begin teaching the revamped curriculum in their classrooms in certain schools in the province starting next year.

“Field-testing future curriculum in the classroom is an important part of our process and it helps to ensure that what looks good on paper also makes sense in the classroom,” said Eggen in a news release. “We will continue to work with our education partners and stakeholders to ensure that future curriculum is ready for students in a timely matter.”

The revamping of the provincial curriculum has been underway since 2016. The goal, according to a news release from the province, is to rewrite all core subject areas (Language arts, mathematics, social studies, sciences, arts and wellness) at once to ensure all subjects compliment each other, and allow students to develop literacy, numeracy and competencies in each grade.

The province says more than 100,000 people have provided feedback or participated in town halls and roundtables regarding the curriculum.

Timelines for the new curriculum to be fully implemented have not been set, meaning the current curriculum remains in place until the timelines have been developed.

The Ministry of Education is currently scheduled to approve the new curriculum for Grades 5-9 by December 2019, and Grades 10-12 between December 2020 and 2022.

The draft curriculum can be viewed here.