The FSA is not optional unless students meet a very narrow set of requirements for exemption.
HCOS will be administering the assessments and families receive a package in order to carry them out at home. Here is some information to help you and your child prepare for the tests. There are two categories of assessment; the assessments in total take about four hours. Here are the categories: - Literacy - Numeracy The FSA will take your child about 4 hours to complete over a few days during a four week writing period. The assessments include online and written questions and a reflection activity. The written parts of the assessment will be marked by teachers from HCOS and the results sent to your support teacher. #### The results will be based on the following proficiencies: - **Extending** – Sophisticated understanding of the concepts and competencies in relation to expected learning. - **Proficient** – Complete understanding of the concepts and competencies in relation to expected learning. - **Developing** - Partial understanding of the concepts and competencies in relation to expected learning. - **Emerging** –Initial understanding of the concepts and competencies in relation to expected learning. #### **FSA Questions and Answers**| What does FSA stand for? | FSA stands for Foundation Skills Assessment and this test is given to all students in BC enrolled in grades 4 and 7. |
| What subjects are tested? | The student is tested in Literacy and Numeracy. |
| What is an invigilator? | An invigilator is a person responsible for supervising a test. The invigilator for the FSAs is either a teacher (in our case, with HCOS) **or** any person the administration deems as unbiased. This can be the parent of the child. |
| What time is involved for each test? | About 2 hours for each of the two sections. |