This is the first in a series of articles from Rocky View Schools regarding assessments. We hope this helps inform families on why, when and how RVS conducts assessments.

Students at all grade levels engage in a series of assessments to help inform the teacher, student and family about how the child is performing as they progress towards learning outcomes in the curriculum. While most of the assessments that your child completes are created by the teacher, others are assessments required by the province or assessments that RVS requires. In addition to understanding how the student is performing, assessments can help guide teaching for your child.

Recently, the provincial government expanded the literacy and numeracy assessment requirements for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. In the fall of 2026, these assessments will extend into Grade 4 and 5. Provincial requirements for older grades include Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) at Grades 6 and 9 and diploma exams at Grade 12.

Considering the number of provincial literacy assessments required, the time it takes for teachers to administer and report on these assessments and the ongoing curriculum changes, RVS has decided to reduce our divisional literacy assessments. Rest assured, teachers will continue to engage in formal and informal assessments and report those to families.

We are continuing with a divisional math assessment each fall from Grades 4 to 10 as it ties to the specific math content your child is learning. It can provide a measure of math performance for your child, and we can see overall successes and areas of improvement at the school and divisional level.

Our own talented RVS teachers have created the RVS Writing Assessment, a way to assess students’ writing skills and proficiencies and we are expanding the use of this tool from Grades 1 to 11.

Sharing literacy and numeracy results with parents is crucial. Often the raw score on the specific assessment has limited value without context such as whether that result indicates the student is meeting or not meeting expectations. Shortly after each assessment is administered and tabulated, you can expect to hear from your child’s teacher. This important process gives families the opportunity to learn about their child's progress and work with the teacher to best support the child's learning needs.

The school’s overall results are shared on these assessments via the school’s education plan. Divisionally, we report these as part of Annual Education Results Report (AERR).

Learn more about RVS divisional and provincial assessments.