Alberta PAT

All Alberta students in grades 6 and 9. Grade 6 covers English Language Arts and Literature, Français langue première et littérature/French Immersion Language Arts and Literature, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Grade 9 covers English Language Arts, Français/French Language Arts (K&E not offered), Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, including Knowledge and Employability programs of study.

Grade 6 tests occur in June. Grade 9 and Knowledge and Employability tests are written in January and June. Your school sets the exact sitting times within those windows, so confirm your personal schedule with your teacher rather than relying on general dates.

They are digital. Alberta Education and Childcare has modernized provincial assessments by transitioning to a digital platform, so students write in a digital environment rather than with pencil and paper. The format supports interactive item types, plus built-in digital tools and accommodations intended to address diverse learning needs.

The provincial program page does not publish a per-test time limit or item count. Timing is administered by your school authority under the General Information Bulletin and the PAT schedules. Ask your teacher for the sitting length of each subject so you can rehearse pacing with practice tests on the digital platform.

The provincial page describes reporting rather than a pass mark. Schools must share preliminary PAT results with parents and guardians by the end of the school year. Every fall, Individual Student Profiles are made available to schools on PASI and to parents on myPass, and are kept on student records under the Student Record Regulation.

The provincial page does not describe a rewrite or appeal process for PATs; they are administered annually on the provincial schedule. If you miss a sitting or have concerns about your result, speak with your school administration, which handles scheduling, accommodations and reporting within your authority.

Start with the subject bulletin for your grade to see what is assessed, then work through practice questions and practice written-response assignments on the Digital Assessment Platform. Follow with released items and scoring guides, and study examples of student writing to see how responses are scored before attempting full practice sittings.

Skipping written-response practice is the biggest one; written assignments are administered on the platform and reward planning and revision. Others include ignoring available digital tools and accommodations, and treating PATs as a substitute for daily class work. PATs do not replace teacher assessment; they complement ongoing classroom observations.

Yes. Each school board in Alberta sets local performance targets for school and board performance on provincial standardized tests, and PAT results are published for each school authority and individual school. Results help educators identify areas of relative strength and weakness when planning instruction, so they matter beyond your own record.

Principals can contact individuals with school authority access, or email the program to request access for their school, then set up accounts and add administrators and teachers. Once teachers have accounts, they can administer practice written-response assignments and practice tests. Instructions are in the user guides on the platform help page.