Highlights
The Ministry of Education and Child Care (ECC) releases the Aboriginal: How Are We Doing? Report annually. For the second year, superintendents of each of the 60 school districts received letters with district-level reports that also highlighted the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) as a key indicator for literacy and numeracy. ECC acknowledges the importance of mechanisms such as the FSA to maintain accountability in school districts for improving outcomes for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students throughout the province.
School districts are required to report FSA results through the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning, and ECC will continue to collaborate and support school districts to improve outcomes for Indigenous learners within their strategic planning, collaborating with First Nations, Métis Chartered Communities and key stakeholders through the process.
How are we working together?
Engagement with First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), B.C. Aboriginal Child Care Society (BCACCS) and Métis Nation B.C. (MNBC) is required to address the broader scope of this action and increase participation in FSAs to support improved literacy and numeracy outcomes. Measures for addressing literacy and numeracy assessment results are included within discussions at the Advisory Group on Provincial Assessment III (AGPA III), which includes FNESC and MNBC. Bilateral conversations between ECC and FNESC are also happening on assessment system topics.
Are there challenges?
ECC and partner capacity to fully implement this action is a challenge. The student outcomes published in the annual Aboriginal: How Are We Doing? Report demonstrate that there are persistent gaps in the results between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, highlighting the need for the public school system to better support all Indigenous learners.