Edmonton public, Catholic schools cancel provincial achievement tests

Students from Edmonton's public and Catholic schools won't be required to write provincial achievement tests this school year.

Both school divisions have opted out of PATs for Grades 6 and 9 for the 2020-21 school year.

"This is not a standard year by any stretch of the imagination," Tricia Estabrooks, chair of the Edmonton public school board, said Friday.

Students are learning in stressful conditions and don't need the added burden of PATs, Estabrooks said.

"This is a year where students are experiencing perhaps some challenges and some additional stressors in their life that typically they wouldn't be experiencing."

• Calgary Board of Education cancels provincial achievement tests

Edmonton Catholic Schools highlighted the same concerns in a letter sent to students and parents Thursday.

"As we continue to navigate the educational impacts of COVID-19, we recognize that the added stress of PATs for our students needs to be avoided," wrote superintendent Robert Martin.

Both school boards said PATs are one of many tools used to assess how a student is learning.

"Student learning will continue to be assessed in many other ways to ensure that curricular outcomes are being met," said a statement from Edmonton Catholic Schools.

• Edmonton Public Schools will ask province to cancel diploma exams during pandemic

Edmonton Public Schools is asking the province to cancel Grade 12 diploma exams as well.

"It would really lend itself to all students being on the same playing field," Estabrooks said.

"Grades and different ways of measuring student success can be done through teacher awarded marks."

Cancelling the exams would also ensure that students who are learning online don't have to attend exams in person, she said.

"All of a sudden, we're asking online students to come to an in-person exam and that didn't feel like it was really honouring the choice to allow students to stay home."

• Grade 12 students given choice to opt out of diploma exams this fall

Alberta Education announced earlier this month that Grade 12 diploma exams would be optional for the fall semester.

Diploma exams scheduled for January, April or June continue to be mandatory.

"We will of course continue to monitor how the school year progresses, and make decisions on the remaining exams prior to them being written," said a statement from Alberta Education.