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14,
2014
Standardized
Testing
Rebranded,
Now
Going
Full
Speed
AheadWhat
to
make
of
the
Student
First
consultations
?
Marc
Spooner
With
the
announcement
that
directors
Liam
Choo-Foo
and
Don
Remple
will
be
leading
the
charge
on
assessment
and
focusing
on
reading,
writing
and
arithmetic,
the
Ministry
of
Education
is
doing
exactly
what
I
predicted
in
the
Leader-Post
back
in
Oct
of
2013--
before
the
Student
First
consultations!
Rebranding
exercise?
Spooner,
M.
(2013,
Oct
31).
Rebranding
exercise?
Leader
Post.
I
write
regarding
the
Oct.
25
Leader-Post
story
entitled
"Showcasing
school
success
stories".
It
was
about
recent
Saskatchewan
Ministry
of
Education
assessment
initiatives.
Assistant
deputy
minister
of
education
Greg
Miller
assures
us
that
these
initiatives
are
not
a
repackaged
push
for
standardized
testing.
Sadly,
that
is
precisely
what
they
are.
One
need
only
look
at
the
article's
featured
school
division
and
director,
Liam
Choo-
Foo.
Only
a
few
months
ago,
in
an
op-ed
piece
in
these
very
pages,
Choo-Foo
was
arguing
the
merits
of
standardized
testing
in
a
piece
entitled
"Standardized
tests
contribute
to
student
success."
Moreover,
a
cursory
glance
at
the
comprehensive
supports
for
student
achievement
link
in
the
student
achievement
section
of
the
ministry's
own
website,
reveals
the
bullet
point:
"Align
curriculum,
instruction,
and
assessment
in
response
to
provincial
assessments",
which
serves
to
further
confirm
the
fears
of
concerned
parents
and
educators
in
Saskatchewan
-
that
the
ministry's
previously
announced
standardized
testing
plans
were
merely
on
pause
long
enough
for
them
to
rebrand
and
relaunch
the
unpopular
and
misguided,
top-down
directive
under
a
more
slick
public
relations
strategy.
Unfortunately,
the
considerable
funding
lost
to
this
costly
and
ineffective
testing
initiative
will
only
take
away
from
more
pressing
areas
such
as
overcrowded
classrooms,
reduced
teacher
development
days,
and
growing
provincial
inequity.
Sadly,
all
of
this
comes
at
the
expense
of
our
children
and
Saskatchewan's
education
system.
Marc
Spooner
Regina