Pages
As we move to the end of the school year, many parents like to add an external year-end exam or test in order to provide them with an objective, outside evaluation. Here are three options available to your family for year-end review.
NOTE: results of these examinations are for your own information as your child's teacher, and are not kept in your official student file unless you request that they be added.
Please let us know if you have questions!
Classic Learning Test
The Classic Learning Test (CLT) is a post-secondary entrance exam, created as an alternative to the SAT and recognized at many post-secondary institutions across the United States, and a growing number in Canada.
In addition to the college entrance exam, the folks at CLT have created the CLT3-8 exams for students in grades 3-8, and the CLT10 for students in grades 9-10. These tests focus on numeracy and literacy, and can be a useful evaluation tool, and one that can be conveniently accessed from home. Please click here for more information on the CLT. WISDOM covers the testing cost for our students, charging only a $10 processing fee.
Solaro
SOLARO is an online learning and assessment resource that uses Alberta Programs of Study outcomes for lessons, activities, exercises, and quizzes with detailed solutions for grades 3-12. (SOLARO holds 10 times the content of the comparable Key books.)
Each student license grants access to as many as 10 subjects at a time, spanning any grades. This allows for review where needed or the option to advance as quickly as suits the student.
Parents using the teacher license can create lessons, quizzes and more for their students in the form of text and multimedia assignments.
Learn more and sign up here.
Canadian Tests of Basic Skills
The Canadian Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) offers a national standing for your child based on language and math, allowing parents to understand the individual strengths of a child and offering insight into areas for growth or challenge. CTBS is completed at home, under parent supervision, and then materials are returned to WISDOM to send on to Nelson for scoring.
WISDOM charges a $20 damage deposit for test materials, per student - this fee is returned when the booklets are received back in the office, damage free. From September through February of each school year, families may use funding for the damage deposit. After March 1, a credit card number is held for the deposit.
Request CTBS by emailing peter@wisdomhomeschooling.com. Tests are sent to you by mail, and you then have 6 weeks to complete and return the booklets to WISDOM. Once scored, WISDOM emails you the results.
Canadian Test Centre
CTC/Canadian Test Centre offers home educators an opportunity to assess their students with the nationally recognized Canadian Achievement Tests (CAT) and the Canadian Test of Cognitive Skills (CTCS). These tests provide home educators with information that will assist them in teaching and guiding their students.
For more information, visit their website.
DEADLINE: Alberta Education requires we submit all student notification on the last business day of September for funding eligibility. If possible, please enroll 5 or more business days prior to the deadline for our data team to review your notification.
Notification for 2024-2025 is now CLOSED.
Are you NEW to WISDOM for September 2025? Click here.
Are you returning to WISDOM for 2025-2026? Click here.
We collect digital notifications from families in order to streamline and simplify the process for everyone. The SchoolCloud Student Information System (SIS) links specific student data to PASI (Alberta Education's database of student records), and keeps other information private to our staff so we may serve you with excellence. While not mandatory, we invite parents to create your own account, where you may update notifications, view documents (such as evaluations and funding balance) and upload required documents.
Parent Portal FAQ
Q. What is Home Schooling?
Q. What is (Parent-Delivered) Home Schooling? (What are the different types of home schooling?)
Q. Why do families home school?
Q. Are parents qualified to teach their children?
Q. Is home schooling legal?
Q. How much time does it take?
Q. How can we teach several children at once?
Q. What about socialization?
Q. What about my child's special interests?
Q. Can Home Schoolers get a high school diploma and attend university or college?
Q. What materials are available?
Q. What methods should I use?
Q. What about children with special needs?
Q. How does WISDOM receive, divide - and use - educational funding grants?
Q. What are some difficulties we might face when home schooling our children?
Q. How do we get started home schooling?
Q. Are we obligated to create and use this portal for our family? I prefer to keep my personal info out of 'clouds' and other servers.
Q. How will I access student information?
Q. Does this give AB Education access to our Education Program Plans (EPPs)?
Q. Which option we pick for the declaration of outcomes?
Q. We will not be returning to WISDOM Home Schooling (The Gilbertine Academy S2338) for this coming school year. Do we still need an account?
Are we obligated to create and use this portal for our family? I prefer to keep my personal info out of 'clouds' and other servers.
Alberta Education requires that all schools store student records in a government-approved student information system (SIS).
SchoolCloud is highly secure, with the same precautions as any other government database. If you do choose to send us paper forms, which you are still able to do, we enter the necessary information into this database.
SchoolCloud is actually more secure than email, so is thus the preferred means of sharing information with our parents. Your secure login will give you access to your child's notification and private family information. We will send you email notifications when information is changed in SchoolCloud, such as to notify you when your facilitator uploads a student evaluation.
You do not need to access your parent portal if you do not wish to do so, but your students’ information will still exist in SchoolCloud as it always has. Now parents will access and enter information into SchoolCloud themselves, rather than the student information being entered entirely by our team.
How will I access student information?
You will be able to log into the Parent Portal at any time to access your child's records, including facilitator evaluations. We have created tutorials to assist you in creating your account and creating notifications. If you need assistance, the chat function is live during business hours and a member of our team can help you.
Does this give AB Education access to our Education Program Plans (EPPs)?
The official student record (Notifications, ID and Evaluations) are the property of Alberta Education and reside within PASI, synced through SchoolCloud. The student cumulative record follows them through their educational journey and is destroyed 7 years after graduation.
In 2019, AB Education moved to entirely digital student records, meaning that instead of paper files being shipped from school to school to follow a student, student records across Alberta are entirely digital and stored within PASI. If a student moves between schools, the information is transmitted within PASI.
When it comes to preparing excellent EPPs, we assist parents in following the Alberta Home Education Regulation, ensuring that all families are protected in their right to home educate.
Which option we pick for the declaration of outcomes?
Following the Alberta Programs of Study (POS) is what you choose when you plan to follow all the AB Education Programs of Study outcomes for each subject, just as if your student attended school for that particular grade.
Following the Schedule of Learner Outcomes as per the Home Education Regulation allows you to fully develop your own program plan, tailored to the unique needs of your child. With this option, you may follow the Alberta POS as closely as you wish to, but evaluation of your student's progress is based on the outcomes you include in your plan, and not on something external. Most home educators choose this option.
We will not be returning to WISDOM Home Schooling (The Gilbertine Academy S2338) for this coming school year. Do we still need an account?
If you do not intend to home educate with us for the following year, your account will be deactivated. We will retain your personal information as part of your student's past enrollment. The student cumulative record follows them through their educational journey and is destroyed 7 years after graduation.
More Questions? Email data@wisdomhomeschooling.com
The Difference Between Psycho-Educational (Static) Assessment and the Learning Propensity Assessment Device (Dynamic Assessment)
John Hoekstra
There are four main differences that we will examine and contrast between a standard Psych-Ed evaluation and the Dynamic Assessment (DA) that we provide. These are:
- Assessment Tools
- Assessment Situation
- Product verses Process Orientation
- Interpretation of the Outcomes
- Assessment Tools
Static Assessment
The tools of the static assessment are built with the aim of examining a child’s present levels of knowledge, expertise, and skill. It is expected that the child will respond spontaneously according to the criteria of age and developmental norms that have been established. The tools are not intended, and are not capable of, showing the cause or the lack of capability detected in the test. Static tests are constructed in such a way that no learning will take place. The examiner in no way will intervene to assist the child with answers; doing so will invalidate the results.
Dynamic Assessment
Dynamic Assessment tools are constructed in a way to include situations that are openly intended for learning. A DA is based on the existence of a learning process, because this is the process we wish to evaluate. In other words: we evaluate the child’s learning processes while they are in a learning situation. The varied DA tools enable the examiner to analyze the propensity of the child to learn and to think, and then analyzes the changes that have taken place in their thinking ability following the examiners intervention. The DA is not concerned with informational questions that the child may know; it is concerned with examining their thinking processes.
- Assessment Situation
Static Assessment
In a static assessment the role of the examiner is to look for what is "fixed, permanent, and unchanging" in the child. The need is to create a standardization of the test conditions in order to establish its validity and reliability beyond time and the variations in the examinee. In static assessment, no action must be performed that might cause change in a child; the examiner is required to be passive and remote. The examiner must avoid giving any kind of hint to the child, even steering clear of giving feedback about functioning. The format is: test, record.
Dynamic Assessment
In DA there is no requirement for standardization. There are consistent rules and uniform, planned strategies for performing the diagnosis, but because we are comparing the child to themselves alone we do not need (or desire) to make the instructions of the assessment and the interaction between the child and the examiner sterile and standard. The format is: pretest, mediation/teach, retest. In DA the examiner will do everything in their power to create in the child the experience of modifiability. The examiner is in fact an active and involved mediator/teacher. The examiner is interested in the child’s success no less than the child is. Therefore, DA is most always a positive experience for the child.
- Product verses Process Orientation
Static Assessment
Focus is on the outcomes of the tests (product). The examiner wants to know what the child knows and what they do not know, what the child achieved within an allocated time and what the child didn’t succeed in achieving in the allocated time. Even if the child knows the answer but didn’t arrive at it in the time allocated, this information is not significant from the standpoint of the examiner. The child is there in order to answer questions, not in order to ask questions.
Dynamic Assessment
DA does not produce or emphasize numerical scores. Focus is on the process that the child undergoes in the course of the assessment. We ask the questions: What is the process that made the child succeed or fail? What is the process through which the child can be modified? How can we bring about change in him/her? We are looking for signs of change, representing differences between pre-testing and post-testing. We teach a principle and want to know how the child will use it (apply it in their thinking) in a new situation that demands the ability to adapt and change (be modified/demonstrate modifiability). Questions are allowed, and in fact encouraged, as these can be indicators of change in the child’s thinking.
- Interpretation of the Outcomes
Static Assessment
In static assessment the outcomes of the tests are summed up in quantitative terms; the number of correct answers as against the number of incorrect answers. The results are then analyzed statistically, with the examinee then given a placement or number relative to (the norms of) the results of examinees considered to be of a comparable nature (e.g. age of examinee). The norms are statistically derived indices such as averages, percentiles, standard scores, etc. from previous test results of other examinees of comparable nature (age).
Dynamic Assessment
The process that the child undergoes during a DA enables the examiner to gain an understanding of what had previously been poorly utilized or inaccessible to the child, and the extent that it has become incorporated within the repertoire of thinking skills. We examine not only the answers chosen by the child but also the reasons for the answers that were chosen. We examine the thinking process behind the choice of one answer or another. As a result, not only are we able to locate the high points of functioning but also the weaker points of functioning. According to these points we conclude what lies beneath the surface – the thinking abilities that we must strengthen or develop. These are the buds of change, so to speak, and in them we see a confirmation of the child’s ability to continue to be changed (modified). With the buds of change identified, mediation of them can continue, as does the process of modifying the child’s thinking and propensity to learn.
Based on a summary of Beyond Smarter: Mediated Learning and the Brain's Capacity for Change by Louis H. Falik and Reuven Feuerstein
For more information or to arrange an assessment appointment, contact Lora at lora@wisdomhomeschooling.com, or call the WISDOM office.
ACCIDENT WAIVER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY FORM
I HEREBY ASSUME ALL OF THE RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN ANY/ALL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS EVENT, including by way of example and not limitation, any risks that may arise from negligence or carelessness on the part of the entities and their representatives being released, from dangerous or defective equipment or property owned, maintained, or controlled by Gilbertine Institute [GI], or because of their possible liability without fault.
I certify that I am physically fit, have sufficiently prepared or trained for participation in this activity, and have not been advised to not participate by a qualified medical professional. I certify that there are no health-related reasons or problems which preclude my participation in this activity.
I acknowledge that this Accident Waiver and Release of Liability Form will be used by the event holders, sponsors, and organizers of the activity in which I may participate, and that it will govern my actions and responsibilities at said activity.
In consideration of my application and permitting me to participate in this activity, I hereby take action for myself, my executors, administrators, heirs, next of kin, successors, and assigns as follows:
(A) I WAIVE, RELEASE, AND DISCHARGE from any and all liability, including but not limited to, liability arising from the negligence or fault of the entities or persons released, for my death, disability, personal injury, property damage, property theft, or actions of any kind which may hereafter occur to me including my traveling to and from this activity, THE FOLLOWING ENTITIES OR PERSONS: Gilbertine Institute [GI] and/or their directors, officers, employees, volunteers, representatives, and agents, and the activity holders, sponsors, and volunteers;
(B) INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS the entities or persons mentioned in this paragraph from any and all liabilities or claims made as a result of participation in this activity, whether caused by the negligence of release or otherwise.
I acknowledge that GI and their directors, officers, volunteers, representatives, and agents are NOT responsible for the errors, omissions, acts, or failures to act of any party or entity conducting a specific activity on their behalf.
I acknowledge that this activity may involve a test of a person's physical and mental limits and carries with it the potential for death, serious injury, and property loss. The risks include, but are not limited to, those caused by terrain, facilities, temperature, weather, condition of participants, equipment, vehicular traffic, lack of hydration, and actions of other people including, but not limited to, participants, volunteers, monitors, and/or producers of the activity. These risks are not only inherent to participants, but are also present for volunteers.
I hereby consent to receive medical assistance which may be deemed advisable in the event of injury, accident, and/or illness during this activity, and where the parent/guardian may not be immediately available.
The Accident Waiver and Release of Liability Form shall be construed broadly to provide a release and waiver to the maximum extent permissible under applicable law.
I CERTIFY THAT I HAVE READ THIS DOCUMENT AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND ITS CONTENT. I AM AWARE THAT THIS IS A RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND A CONTRACT AND BY REGISTERING FOR THE EVENT I SIGN IT OF MY OWN FREE WILL.
By registering my child and/or myself for this workshop, I hereby consent to having photographs taken of my child and/or myself during this workshop. I acknowledge that these photographs may be used as a teaching tool in future workshops, or may be used for promoting future workshops. I authorize their use and reproduction without compensation.
General Terms & Conditions:
Registration
Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. If workshops are full you may contact the office and ask to be placed on a waitlist, which does not guarantee placement in the workshop, but on a first-come, first-served basis off of the waitlist as well, if empty seats or additional workshops become available. WISDOM events, courses and programs are for WISDOM families only unless otherwise specified.
Payment
Payment for all workshops must be received in full before the start date. Payment options are specified online at the time of registration.
Cancellation/Refund Policy
In-person workshops:
Cancellation must be received a minimum of 10 business days prior to the start date of the in-person workshop for the registration fee to be refundable. Registration will not be refunded if the cancellation is received less than 10 business days in advance of the start date. Registration fees are non-transferable.
Online workshops:
Cancellation must be received a minimum of 5 business days prior to the start date of the online workshop for the registration fee to be refundable. Registration will not be refunded if the cancellation is received less than 5 business days in advance of the start date. Registration fees are transferable to another online workshop within the current school year with one exception; Foundations Workshop registrations are only transferable to another Foundations Workshop.
Event Cancellation
WISDOM reserves the right to cancel any workshop because of low registration or events beyond WISDOM's control. In the unlikely event of cancellation, registrants will be notified and offered the option to switch to a different Mediated Learning workshop, or receive a full refund.
Workshop presenters
WISDOM reserves the right to substitute presenters in the unlikely event that the workshop presenters listed cannot conduct the program. Substitution of presenter is not a cause for refund.
Privacy of Registrants
In signing up for a WISDOM Mediated Learning In-Person or Online Workshop, WISDOM requires you to provide a certain amount of your personal data. Your privacy is very important to us. WISDOM’s Privacy Policy complies with applicable Canadian and Alberta legislation with respect to the collection and protection of personal and private information. WISDOM also strives to protect the privacy of those attending and sharing in our workshops. Therefore, to be clear, WISDOM does not grant permission for electronic copies of any In-person or Online workshop to be made by a student or parent, for any reason, nor does WISDOM authorize any form of copying and sharing of workshop sessions, without the written permission from the WISDOM office authorized personnel.
If you are interested in learning more about how your personal data is used, please contact WISDOM.
Copyright
By registering for these Mediated Learning In-Person or Online Workshops, you are confirming your understanding that the material and information being used and presented is protected by various copyright and intellectual property laws. You acknowledge that:
- You will not copy, reproduce, re-publish, disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer, download, post, broadcast, transmit, make available to the public, or otherwise use WISDOM content in any way except for your own personal, non-commercial use. You also agree not to adapt, alter or create a derivative work from any WISDOM content except for your own personal, non-commercial use. Any other use of WISDOM content requires the prior written permission of WISDOM.
Actively enrolled WISDOM families may download ID cards for your family, with the option of making them photo ID.
Here are the step-by-step instructions to creating your student and educator ID cards:
1. Login to your Parent Portal account.
If you DON'T want photos:
2. Click the yellow Download ID Cards button at the top left of your screen. That's it!
If you DO want photos:
3. If you do want photos on them, simply upload a photo of each student by clicking the Student Photo Upload button.
4. Click the green + button, select your photo file and then click Start Upload.
5. Repeat step 4 for each student.
6. To upload a parent photo, select the Parent Photo Upload at the top left, then scroll down to the bottom green + button, select your photo file and then click Start Upload.
7. After all your photos are uploaded, click the yellow Download ID Cards button at the top left of your screen.
General Terms & Conditions:
Registration
Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. If classes are full, parents may register their child to be placed on the waiting list. This does not guarantee placement in the course, but if an opening arises, the waiting list registrants will be contacted in order of registration. The Socratic Dialogue Online Program is available for students who are enrolled with WISDOM. However, once Albertan WISDOM students have had first opportunity to register in the courses, WISDOM opens registrations up to non-WISDOM, out-of-Province students. Non-WISDOM in-Province students are not eligible to register for online classes. If a family leaves WISDOM mid-year, they are also by default removing themselves from any online class(es).
Payment
Payment for all online courses is as follows:
Fees taken from funding: The charge will be applied automatically to your funding account before the third week of the course begins. *Exception: Where families have not submitted their Education Program Plan(s) by the deadline of August 31, funding will not be applied. In this situation, parents must make other payment arrangements.
Credit Card: Due immediately upon registration. A 4% service fee applies to all credit card charges.
E-transfer or Cheque: Due prior to course commencement. The Finance Team will send you an invoice and instructions for payment.
Cancellation/Refund Policy
Students have the option to try up to 2 weeks of official classes and cancel at no penalty. All paid funds will be returned. After that point, students who cancel forfeit the course fee.
If a student misses 5 or more classes/term, then he or she will not be regarded as having taken the course. No evaluation will be submitted to the parent by the tutor.
Course content is intended to be engaged in by the student in a live format rather than on-demand. Portions of a course may not be taken separately from the whole (eg: In a writing course, writing assignments cannot continue to be submitted for marking if a student is unable to attend classes).
If a student must miss a class or a writing tutorial, they or their parent must communicate this to the tutor in advance of the scheduled class or tutorial. Except in emergency situations, if a student misses their scheduled writing tutorial, there will not be a make-up tutorial and the student has forfeited that tutorial. If the tutor misses the scheduled tutorial due to illness or technical difficulties, the tutor will reschedule that tutorial with the affected students.
Writing Course Completion Requirements
A course completion will be granted to the student at the discretion of the tutor, primarily based on the following:
- Assignments completed and returned on time.
- Course participation, including punctuality, effort, communication with the tutor, etc.
Students must be recognized as having completed a course for it to qualify as a prerequisite to other WISDOM writing courses.
Certificate of Completion
WISDOM provides eligible students of the online classes with a certificate of completion upon request. Eligibility is based upon attendance record: no more than 3 absences per course.
Event Cancellation
WISDOM reserves the right to cancel any course or workshop because of low registration or situations beyond WISDOM's control. If a course must be canceled, registrants will be notified and offered the option to switch to a different course or receive a full refund.
Tutors or workshop presenters
WISDOM reserves the right to substitute tutors or presenters in the unlikely event that the tutors or workshop presenters listed cannot conduct the program. Substitution of a tutor or a presenter is not a cause for refund.
Privacy of Registrants
In signing up for a WISDOM Socratic Dialogue Online Program course, WISDOM requires a certain amount of personal data. Your privacy is very important to us. WISDOM’s Privacy Policy (through The Gilbertine Institute Independent School Association) complies with applicable Canadian and Alberta legislation with respect to the collection and protection of personal and private information. WISDOM also strives to protect the privacy of those attending and sharing in our classes and workshops. Therefore, to be clear, WISDOM does not grant permission for electronic copies of any sessions (classes or workshops) to be made by a student or parent, for any reason, nor does WISDOM authorize any form of copying and sharing of class or workshop sessions without the express written permission from the WISDOM office authorized personnel. For the purpose of aiding parents and students, online courses may be recorded by WISDOM and shared with the class participants. This enables a student to occasionally miss a class and still stay up to date with the course.
If you are interested in learning more about how your personal data is used, please contact WISDOM.
Copyright
By registering for the WISDOM Socratic Dialogue Online Program, you are confirming your understanding that the material and information being used and presented is protected by various copyright and intellectual property laws. You acknowledge that:
- You will not copy, reproduce, publish, disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer, download, post, broadcast, transmit, make available to the public, or otherwise use WISDOM content in any way except for your own personal, non-commercial use. You also agree not to adapt, alter or create a derivative work from any WISDOM content except for your own personal, non-commercial use. Any other use of WISDOM content requires the prior written permission of WISDOM.