BC Calls for Test Boycott

Let the wellness spread. Here is a clip from the Golden Star:

The B.C. Teachers' Federation says Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) provincial testing has a negative effect on teaching and learning and has advised parents to withdraw students from the exams.

The Ministry of Education has been administering the FSA since 2000 to students in grades 4 and 7 to evaluate reading, writing and math skills.

The BCTF says the testing has a harmful impact on teachers and students. Teachers experience pressure to "teach to the test, ignore important aspects of the curriculum, teach in less interesting ways, spend less time addressing the individual needs of students and spend instructional time on test practice," according to the BCTF.

Students, on the other hand, "suffer from text anxiety, value tests more than learning and lose their motivation to learn if they do badly on tests," the BCTF says.

The BCTF has called for an exam boycott on May 8 - May 19, urging parents to withdraw their child from the FSA tests by writing a letter to the school principal. . .