"Recently, Alberta Education let us know that Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) will be replaced with Student Learning Assessments (SLAs). These new diagnostic assessments will be administered at the beginning of the school year rather than at the end of the school year.
Moving testing to the start of the school year provides students, parents and teachers with timely information about each Grade 3 student. This information can be used throughout the school year to build on each student’s strengths and address challenges as needed.
Alberta Education is replacing all Grade 3 PATs with Student Learning Assessments (SLAs) in 2015. The plan is for PATs to be phased out gradually as SLAs are phased in. Grade 3 PATs will be phased out first, with SLAs being administered to incoming Grade 3 students as early as September 2014. We are excited to be a part of this pilot opportunity that will help shape this tool for the benefit of students, teachers and parents.
As the 2013-14 school year is a transition year, Alberta Education gave school boards the option of participating in the old PAT testing program for Grade 3. We have decided CBE students in Grade 3 will not be writing PATs this June. To reach this decision, we worked with principals, school communities, our teacher advisory group, other school jurisdictions and the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
Moving to SLAs aligns with the vision outlined in Alberta Education’s Inspiring Education, where education systems are more responsive to the learning needs of individual students. This also aligns with our vision of personalized learning; to adjust learning to the needs of each student.
For more information about SLAs, visit Alberta Education."
So this means our current grade 3's will not be writing a PAT or have any assessment done.
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