Province tabs $1.6M for early years evaluations tools

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This article was published 12/06/2023 (876 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is investing $1.6 million to expand access to early years evaluations and digital assessment tools in English and French for educators and clinicians.

More than one-third of school divisions use Early Years Evaluation in Kindergarten, which provides teachers and clinicians with identification tools, specialized assessments and interventions to identify student learning needs, focusing on literacy and healthy childhood development, Education Minister Wayne Ewasko said Monday.

Based on consultations with superintendents and a review of current early years assessment tools, the province is investing $1 million in partnership with Fredericton-based Learning Bar for three consecutive years in participating school divisions, starting this year, Ewasko announced.

The province is also funding more than $600,000 in partnership with the Pearson Clinical Assessment’s digital assessment library, which offers more than 40 resources and assessment tools.

“This provincial investment directly responds to the report on the commission on K to 12 education recommendations,” said Ewasko. “It fulfills a commitment made in Manitoba’s K-12 education action plan to introduce consistent early years assessments, focusing on children entering kindergarten.”

The province will evaluate data collected from assessments to inform policy decisions and assess the impact the initiative has within schools. Following the three-year contract, the Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning may consider a province-wide implementation.

The Frontier School Division began using early years evaluation four years ago, as a pilot project, said chief superintendent Reg Klassen.

“Data shows from our last year to the current school year, our teachers are improving our kindergarten students’ learning-to-read readiness — and that’s exciting for us,” said Klassen.

“We believe that if this tool is used correctly, it is a safety net for our most vulnerable students academically.”

School divisions that previously purchased their own early years assessments and digital subscriptions can redirect funding back to classrooms and respond to additional student needs, the province said.

The announcement builds on the province’s $100-million additional investment in education this year, and the provision of an operating funding increase to every school division across the province, Ewasko said.

tessa.adamski@freepress.mb.ca