Central Okanagan Public Schools continues to dig deeper into improving methods for educating students and measuring success in the classroom.

That process means engaging beyond the single Foundation Skills Assessment which has become a politically polarizing measuring stick for school comparisons in B.C.

Kevin Kaardal, Central Okanagan Public Schools superintendent/CEO, said the FSA test, which was initially designed by teachers, has some validity as a limited measure of analysis for educators.

The annual province-wide assessment of all B.C. students鈥� academic skills in Grades 4 and 7 was intended to provide parents, teachers, schools, school districts and the Ministry of Education and Childcare with information data on how well students are progressing in the classroom.

While there are issues with how FSA results are interpreted and analyzed, Kaardal said the collected data can provide some insight into what should be many analytical snapshots of how students are progressing in the classroom.

He said a one-time measuring assessment is not an accurate way to determine how students are faring in the classroom with reading, writing and oral language development.

It is also significantly impacted by the annual BC Teachers Federation campaign to encourage parents to excuse students from writing the test, inconsistent preparation of students for the assessment, and the lack of relevance for students鈥� educational program.

鈥淭he results from the FSA tests are miscued when published by the Fraser Institute in comparing classrooms and schools with one another,鈥� Kaardal said.

鈥淭he algorithms and mathematics of it are skewed.鈥�

To that end, assistant school district superintendent Jon Rever is working with a University of Victoria researcher on developing a better statistical analysis of the FSA test results, which would be more meaningful for teachers and administrators to interpret.

Kaardal was speaking about FSAs as part of his annual enhancing student learning report to the Central Okanagan Board of Education on Wednesday (Sept. 20).

He noted the school district employs nationally and provincially recognized educators, a comprehensive district and school leadership program, a teacher leadership academy, participates in international research projects and networks with other professional educators.

He said the school district鈥檚 educational objectives remain clear 鈥� to develop foundational skills and core curricular competencies of students to allow them to pursue their passions and strengths to thrive holistically as resilient and engaged global citizens.

One measure of achievement towards that goal is the graduation rate of Central Okanagan students: a six-year completion rate for 2021-22 of 96 per cent for all B.C. residents and 86 per cent for Indigenous students; and a five-year completion rate for 2021-22 of 94 per cent for B.C. residents and 80.3 per cent for Indigenous students.

Those numbers all trend above the provincial averages in both Indigenous and B.C. resident student categories.

Looking ahead, Kaardal said the school district is looking to improve student numeracy proficiency at all grade levels, and literacy proficiency at middle schools and encourage students to transition to post-secondary options after graduation.

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