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The Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) is an annual province-wide assessment of all B.C. students’ academic skills in grades 4 and 7, and provides parents, teachers, schools, school districts and the Ministry of Education with important information on how well students are progressing in the foundation skills of Reading, Writing, and Numeracy. The FSA has faced criticisms for various reasons, most particularly being tied to the Fraser Institute’s school performance measures. Overall participation in the FSA has declined due to messaging from the BCTF province wide, and Covid has also discouraged participation as well.  The data is still utilized at both the District and Provincial level for evidence-based decision making, and it continues to be reported home to parents. ​

The Foundation Skills Assessment is only one of many indicators of how a child is doing in relation to skills, competencies and content embedded in B.C.'s curriculum (K-12), with the most important measures being those described on your child’s report card. The FSA provides a snapshot of student achievement at a specific point in time. The FSA will include written and online tests. Multiple choice questions for numeracy and reading will be online and held in the school computer lab with the written component completed in the classroom.

School principals will notify parents of any student whose Inclusive Education Plan or English Language proficiency documents a rationale for exclusion from the FSA. Parents may request that Principals excuse their children from the FSA.

For more information on Foundation Skills Assessments, please use the following link to lead you to the B.C. Ministry of Education website.

Foundation Skills Assessments, Ministry of Education Link 

Foundation Skills Assessments, BC Curriculum

Board of Education: 2023 Letter to Parents 

FNESC Letter to Minister of Education RE: Importance of FSAs

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