New data released by Alberta’s government Thursday says more than 70 per cent of K-3 teachers don’t believe mandatory screenings are helping them understand their students’ literacy and numeracy or providing the information needed to get them additional support.
The report, ‘Early years (K-3) literacy and numeracy survey summary’ was compiled based on data collected from 3,599 participants — including K-3 teachers, school and education authority leaders, independent early childhood services operators, and representatives of Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA), Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), Association of Independent Schools and Colleges in Alberta (AISCA), and College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) in June 2025.
Educators were asked to respond with unsure, strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree to the statements ‘The screening requirement has helped me better understand foundation literacy and numeracy skills in students’ and ‘The screening assessments were helpful tools, providing critical information to help students get additional support.”
Of 3,100 responses, 73.6 per cent said they strongly or somewhat disagree.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) argues the survey summary mirrors points it has made to the minister of education about the “ineffectiveness” and “educationally problematic” testing program.
“Teachers have said, and now the government has confirmed, that the screeners do not provide value to classroom teachers,” said president Jason Schilling. “They contain developmentally inappropriate content, may negatively impact students, produce data of limited instructional value and are not paired with adequate targeted supports.”
Annual screening tests for students in kindergarten to Grade 3 are mandated under an amendment to Bill 6 that was passed in the last session of the legislature.
Schilling says the solution to improving outcomes for students is to ditch the “one-size-fits-none” model and follow the professional judgement of teachers on the best ways to assess student performance and progress.
“Then, the government needs to take the next step and provide teachers with the support and tools required to meet the needs of individual students,” he added.
The province’s report highlighted concerned from teachers about the resources provided to them by the province to complete these assessments thrice a year.
“Teachers expressed frustration with the time and effort required to administer screeners and a desire for more professional discretion,” the document reads. “Many responses noted that screeners take valuable teaching time, especially earlier in the year.”
Teachers also said they felt overwhelmed by the volume of screeners and data entry, and in some cases spent their own money on getting supplies neccessary to prepare and deliver screenings.
Additionally, educators are expressing a desire to use their professional discretion in choosing and administering screeners appropriate for their classroom.
Other subjects addressed in the survey included timing and developmental fit, screener design and relevance, support and feedback systems, as well as student experience and well-being.
In a statement to CityNews, Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides says teachers feedback has been noted.
“It was important for me to ask teachers their views on screeners,” he said. “Their feedback will be taken into consideration as we work to make sure every student is screened for learning disabilities.”