There has been confusion about whether the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) includes material that has not yet been covered by teachers because the tests are given in mid-year. In other words, do the Grade 4 reading, writing and numeracy tests consider materials taught from K-3 or K-4? And do the Grade 7 tests cover K-6 or K-7? (The FSA testing period continues until Feb. 25.)
Here is the answer from the B.C. Education Ministry:
This is an assessment of grade 4 and 7 mid-year performance. In Reading and Writing, the materials and the questions were selected for a mid-year profile. Teachers are not required to teach the math curriculum in any particular order, the fairest way determined by the teachers who develop the assessment was to ensure there were no brand new grade 4 and grade 7 curricular concepts included in the assessment. Generally, if a concept has been introduced in Grades 2/3 or 5/6 and is expanded upon in Grades 4 or 7, the concept is considered to be valid for inclusion on the 2011 assessment.
The development team of practising teachers ensure students can use the skills they have learned to solve the problems. Items are piloted to ensure that students can understand them. We also have external experts to review every question.