Which students are assessed?

All New Brunswick students have the opportunity to participate in provincial assessments.

If necessary, students may receive exemptions from and accommodations for writing provincial assessments; however, they will continue to participate in assessments at the school and district levels.

Details are available in the Protocols for Accommodations and Exemptions located on the Department of Education website at www.gnb.ca/education.

ProvincialAssessments

Grade 2 Reading May - June

Grade 4 Reading (English and French Immersion), Math and Science May - June

Grade 6 Reading (English and French), Math and Science May - June

Grade 8 Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (random sample) Spring (every 3 weeks)

Grade 9 English Language Proficiency Assessment End of Semester 1

Grade 10 Reading (French Immersion), Math and Science May - June

Grade 11 and 12 Reassessment: English Language Proficiency Assessment End of Semester 1

Grade 12 French Second Language Oral Proficiency Assessment Schedule will be arranged with school.

Grade 6 and 10 French Oral Proficency (10% sample) Alternating Years

15 year olds Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) Every 3 Years

How to get the results?

You can see how individual schools and districts performed on provincial assessments by referring to the reports published each year by the Department of Education and Childhood Development. You can view the results on the Government of New Brunswick website at www.gnb.ca/education.

Contact Information

For more information on provincial assessments, please visit www.gnb.ca/education.

If you have any questions, please contact the Assessment and Evaluation Branch, Anglophone Sector, at 506-453-2744.

When are students assessed?

Students write provincial assessments throughout their school years. This table shows when students are assessed. Schools notify parents of the exact

date when their children will be assessed. Results of these assessments are made public each year.

New Brunswick’s goal is to build the best education system in Canada, with a central focus on student achievement in reading, numeracy (math) and science. Specific targets have been set to ensure accountability.

How do we know if we are making progress?How will we know when the targets are reached?What’s working well?Where does the system need to improve?

An important component in answering these questions is: Assessment

What is “assessment”?

Think of assessment as “measuring success.”

Quizzes, tests, student portfolios, journals, experiments, teacher observation and student/teacher interviews are all examples of classroom assessments. New Brunswick students also write provincial assessments throughout their schooling.

Two approaches to assessment include:

Assessment of learningThis approach to assessment focuses on the past. It tells us how successful a student, a school, a district or the province has been. Traditional exams and standardized tests are examples of assessment of learning.

Assessment for learningThis approach to assessment focuses on the present and the future. Assessment for learning uses the information gathered in the classroom to identify what (or how) a student, a school or a district needs to improve to achieve success. Assessment for learning goes a step beyond simply measuring success: it increases the likelihood of success in the future.

Within the education system, “assessment” means the regular measurement of progress and the sharing of these results with students, parents, teachers, administrators and policy makers so that further progress can be achieved.

Who assesses students?

Teachers constantly assess students at the classroom level. While assessment at this level is often assessment of learning, teachers in New Brunswick assess for learning as well. Teachers use assessment information to determine the needs of their students and then tailor their instruction to adequately address those needs.

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Education carries out regular provincial assessments to gather the large amount of information required to make programming and policy decisions at the provincial, district and school levels. Over time, this information helps decision makers to identify trends and develop strategies for improved learning. In this way, provincial assessments are both of learning and for learning.

A balanced assessment program has a combination of assessments of and for learning. Teachers, schools, districts and the province work together to achieve this balance to improve student learning.

Why do we assess?

Assessment tells us how well things are working now and helps

us identify how to make things work better in the future. We rely on

assessment to identify and direct our progress towards becoming the best

education system in Canada.

We can identify our progress by comparing provincial assessment results to the following

clear targets for achievement in literacy, numeracy and science, as set out in the

province’s education plan:

Grade 2: 90% of students reach the reading standard and 20% exceed it.

Grade 4: 90% of students reach the reading standard and 20% exceed it.

Grades 6-12: 85% of students reach or exceed the standard on reading, numeracy and science.

High School graduates: 70% are able to effectively speak their second official language.

We are committed to reaching these targets and we want you to know how well we are doing. Each year, we will measure our progress towards these targets at the school, district and provincial levels, and make the results publicly accessible to New Brunswickers.