Three BSD classes join pilot project
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/10/2023 (815 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Just three classes in the Brandon School Division are participating in voluntary testing created after the cancellation of province-wide exams for Grade 10 students.
Earlier this week, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that after announcing at the beginning of the school year that all 10th graders would participate in a new assessment program, Manitoba Education decided to scrap the idea after teachers and school leaders criticized the rollout.
Manitoba Teachers’ Society president Nathan Martindale told the Free Press the No. 1 problem with the plan was “lack of time, lack of training, lack of details.”
Instead, the education department is now looking for teachers to volunteer for a new pilot program that would administer some form of exams to assess students’ understanding of Grade 9 language and math curricula on Nov. 20, although details of the program seem scarce.
On Thursday, BSD Supt. Mathew Gustafson said that across the entire division and its four high schools, just three classes volunteered to participate in the voluntary project — less than 10 per cent of students.
“We’ll get a sense from the experiences of the students and the teachers on that,” Gustafson said. “And it would be our hope that it will also provide some feedback from teachers in terms of where they can further support students.”
He said he wasn’t sure if a provincial program is needed since teachers are “always engaging in formative assessment,” but the division is supportive if the pilot project can help relieve some stresses on the education system.
According to the Free Press, the Division scolaire Franco-Manitobaine — the francophone school division — and Pembina Trails School Division have signalled interest in participating in the voluntary project as well as a single math class in St. James-Assiniboia.
Grade 12 students are expected to resume their provincial tests in the new year.
» cslark@brandonsun.com
» X: @ColinSlark