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FSAs, flood prevention
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January 13, 2009
FSAs: pros and cons
The Vancouver school board is sending letters home to parents with information about opting out of the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests for Grades 4 and 7 students. The mandatory tests are administered to provide a measure of student achievement and track progress of B.C. students, but they have stirred controversy over how the data is used. SFU education professor Paul Shaker, former faculty dean, has no problem with the tests but is critical of their use to rank schools. Meanwhile, SFU public policy professor John Richards is among researchers who rely on the data – which played a critical role in his recent report on improving the success rate of aboriginal students in school.
Paul Shaker, 778.782.3148; pshaker@sfu.ca
John Richards, 778.782.5250; john_richards@sfu.ca
Stemming flood woes
While dozens of homeowners in Chilliwack are wondering how they’ll pay for the thousands of dollars worth of home damage done by recent flooding, others are debating whether it could have been prevented. Patrick Smith, a political science professor and director of SFU’s Institute of Governance Studies, can talk about the importance of stricter development guidelines, given that climate change may lead to more flooding.
Patrick Smith, (available by email this week), patrick_smith@sfu.ca
The Vancouver school board is sending letters home to parents with information about opting out of the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests for Grades 4 and 7 students. The mandatory tests are administered to provide a measure of student achievement and track progress of B.C. students, but they have stirred controversy over how the data is used. SFU education professor Paul Shaker, former faculty dean, has no problem with the tests but is critical of their use to rank schools. Meanwhile, SFU public policy professor John Richards is among researchers who rely on the data – which played a critical role in his recent report on improving the success rate of aboriginal students in school.
Paul Shaker, 778.782.3148; pshaker@sfu.ca
John Richards, 778.782.5250; john_richards@sfu.ca
Stemming flood woes
While dozens of homeowners in Chilliwack are wondering how they’ll pay for the thousands of dollars worth of home damage done by recent flooding, others are debating whether it could have been prevented. Patrick Smith, a political science professor and director of SFU’s Institute of Governance Studies, can talk about the importance of stricter development guidelines, given that climate change may lead to more flooding.
Patrick Smith, (available by email this week), patrick_smith@sfu.ca