Sunshine Coast School District

Message from Superintendent - January 17th

Letter to Parents and Guardians regarding Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA)

January 17, 2012

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) is an important opportunity that our schools have each year to assess the reading, writing and numeracy skills of their students in grades 4 and 7.  While the results play no role in providing data for report cards, individual FSA results are shared with parents.  It is a “snapshot” of how each child is performing on a given day. Classroom assessment of learning is the ongoing collection of student achievement throughout the year.

Key points regarding the FSA:

• As for any other mandated program in our schools such as math or literacy instruction, the FSA is to be completed by all students in B.C. Exceptions are rare and would be a family emergency, long term illness, extensive adaptations or other extenuating situations. If these apply, please speak to your child’s principal.  The principal will assess any request based on the above major issues.

• FSA is aligned with the B.C. Performance Standards and is written and marked by B.C. educators.

• FSA is not used by School District No. 46 to rank students or schools on the Sunshine Coast.

• FSA (along with report card and other data) helps schools and districts to focus their efforts to improve student results on the B.C. Curriculum.

• FSA is very similar to regular classroom assessment assignments and is not damaging in any way for students. It is a good opportunity to practice assessment skills.

• The total time taken for all activities, spread over several days, is approximately 4.5 hours. Of this, approximately two hours is spent completing the assessment at computers.

• The FSA is a part of the School Act and its Regulations. It is a part of good assessment of students and will lead to a better understanding of effective instruction and is, therefore, a good use of instructional time.

• Students with special needs are provided with accommodations to match their learning needs as identified on the Individual Education Plan.

Parents and guardian can support the FSA by encouraging their child to do their best and making sure they are well rested and attend school during the assessment period. As well, if you have any questions regarding the FSA or your child’s participation in this assessment, please do not hesitate to contact your school principal.

Please review the attached brochure for further information regarding the Foundation Skills Assessment or go to www.bced.gov.bc.ca/assessment/fsa  

Sincerely,


Patrick Bocking
Superintendent

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