Teachers pitted against ministry and Fraser Institute
As the battle over the value of standardized testing gains momentum in B.C., “The Tyee” has an in-depth analysis on the conflict that has long pitted the Fraser Institute and the B.C. Education Ministry against the B.C. Teachers Federation. Tensions boiled over last month when the BCTF voted not to administer the Foundational Skills Assessment, which for the past nine years the Fraser Institute has used to rank the province’s schools. While the institute and ministry says the test provides a valuable benchmark of student achievement, teachers cite it as a waste of time and money. The results, the union argues, are used to highlight the inadequacies of poorer schools, and strengthen the institute’s case for private over public schools.