The Labour Relations Board of British Columbia has disappointed the teacher's union by ruling that Foundation Skills Assessment tests taken by Grade 4 and Grade 7 students every year must go ahead in 2009.
The B.C. Teachers Federation has publicly campaigned to get rid of the test for years, claiming it makes students anxious and discouraged about learning. Teachers also think the test, which measures reading, writing and math skills, is not an accurate marker of ability.
The board is upholding a 2002 decision that says the tests are part of a teacher's workload and that they could not refuse to give it.
Irene Lanzinger, the federation's president, told CTV News the union had not yet decided how to respond to the ruling but would by Wednesday.
"The Fraser Institute uses them to rank schools which is a very unfair thing to do when you think about the challenges schools face...to judge different circumstances on the tests of nine year olds," she said. "We feel very strongly the tests do harm to our kids and the system as a whole."
The board said the tests would take place with or without the teachers.
The B.C. Public School Employers' Association says the test is a vital tool and helps paint a picture of what is happening to the students over time.
"What is the appropriate way to determine children are performing at the appropriate grade level? What can it tell us about a particular student and school?" said Hugh Finlayson, CEO BC Public School Employers' Association,
Finlayson says the Education Minister hopes to sit down with the teachers to come up with improvements for the test in 2010.
"We've made it clear, you can have strong views about the tests and strong positions, but if it's part of the ministerial order, and part of the work that should be done, you ought to do it. Any action to frustrate that is a strike," he said.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry.
