Riel division refuses to release standardized test results

Afraid parents will compare schools, teachers

Parents who want to know how their kids fared in provincial tests relative to other students in the Louis Riel School Division are out of luck.

“The results will not be available,”said Tim Watters, director of schools and community support at the division.

There was no comment from the division about why the results won’t be made available.

Many school divisions are afraid that parents will use the records to compare teachers and schools’ abilities to teach their children, critics charge.

“There are some divisions that are much more open to comparison than others. I don’t know why,” said Rodney Clifton, a professor in the faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba.

The answer to the secrecy might lie with the teachers. A March 2000 report by the Manitoba Teachers’ Society stated the tests “had a negative impact on the entire system of instruction in Manitoba.”

Ron Schuler, MLA for Springfield and Tory education opposition critic said comparisons are a touchy subject.

“I’m a little uneasy if we start comparing division to division,” he said.

However, he applauded River East-Transcona School Division for being the only division in the city to release assessment results.

Clifton said that the test results should be available to all parents.

“The government could easily force more accountability on this issue if they tied it to capitol funding,” he said.

“Unfortunately, parents aren’t as mobilized as I thought they would be, they get thwarted at every turn,” Clifton said.

Calls to LRSD Supt. Terry Borys were not returned by press time.

Calls to the Manitoba Teachers’ Society for comment were not returned.