Sask. Government starts work on new student assessment program

The Government of Saskatchewan is working to develop a new student assessment program in order to get clear data on how well students across the province are performing in key areas.

The Ministry of Education said it is working closely with its educational partners to develop the program, with the goal of providing “a fair and objective measure of how students are doing.” The program will help inform both teachers and students in order to improve the learning experience, the ministry added.

Read More:

• Sask. Party will engage with school boards on change room policy
• Sask. K-12 cell phone ban aims to help students ‘reach their potential’
• Quebec auditor general says school system failing Indigenous students

Everett Hindley, Saskatchewan’s education minister, said the assessment program will provide valuable data to help young learners and their instructors.

“We want our students to receive the foundational skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a growing province,” Hindley said in a statement.

“A provincial assessment program will help us identify how kids are doing in the classroom so we can provide teachers and students with the building blocks needed to have the best learning experience. We look forward to working with the education sector to get back to basics with a renewed focus on K-3 reading.”

The assessments will be implemented using a staggered approach, the ministry noted, with a math assessment for Grade 5 and Grade 9 students planned in the 2025-26 school year, while students in Grade 4, Grade 7 and Grade 10 will participate in an English language arts assessment.

The Sask. Party government has said education will be a high priority after the recent provincial election, which saw the Saskatchewan NDP make major gains after campaigning on increased funding for schools across the province.

Earlier this year, Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation members participated in a provincewide strike and other job action, pushing for higher wages, smaller class sizes, and highlighting issues around classroom complexity – the number of students in each class who require additional help beyond what is normally provided. The job action ended in June when both parties agreed to binding arbitration.