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If you have a child in the public school system, then you have probably heard about the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) for grades 4 and 7. I want to take this opportunity to explain to parents why the provincial government believes this assessment is important for your children’s future.

The FSA is a set of reading, writing and numeracy tests, developed by B.C. teachers, administered each winter to B.C. students.

The purpose of the FSA is to provide parents and teachers a “snapshot” of how students are performing across the province. The FSA provides important data so we can find out if student achievement is improving over time. It also allows us to track individual students to measure how they are doing in reading, writing and math problem solving.

We know that there is a very strong correlation between a child’s FSA scores and their future success in completing school. In other words, the earlier that we discover a student may be struggling, the faster teachers and principals can intervene to help them.

For example, students who had met or exceeded expectations in Grade 7 reading achievement went on to obtain completion rates ranging from 90 to 100 per cent. Of those students who did not meet expectations for Grade 7 reading, only two-thirds went on to complete high school within the six-year time frame.

As a parent, you have the right to know how your child is performing and the FSA is an essential tool to help students achieve positive educational outcomes. Every province in Canada uses assessment tools similar to the FSA, which has been endorsed by leading education experts.

In short, FSA is part of the provincial government’s accountability and responsibility to parents. It is an important building block for your child’s future success as a student. Contrary to misinformation, the FSA is not optional – if you have any questions, please contact your child’s principal. Also, a pamphlet on FSA and sample tests are available at www.gov.bc.ca/bced.

Please ensure your child writes this year’s FSA. It might be one of the most important steps you take in preparing them for their future.

/Original Signed by/

Margaret MacDiarmid
Minister of Education
14-February-10

Education at a Glance: 2009/10 School Year

• 538,274 estimated full-time students (projected) – 6,996 fewer than in 2008-09

• 52 of all 60 school districts project declining enrolment

• 1,969 schools in B.C. – 1,622 public and 347 independent

• 33,685 teachers in British Columbia in 2008-09

• $5.043 billion education budget – a 24 per cent increase from 2000-01

• $8,232 in estimated per student funding in 2009-10 – the highest ever, a $205 increase from 2008-09

• The provincial graduation rate is 79 per cent

• $1.2 billion invested in literacy and literacy-related initiatives since 2001

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