[2][3] The government of Alberta instituted the examinations through Alberta Education to attain greater accountability and ensure its students were well regarded when applying to tertiary institutions.
Standardized testing is controversial in general, and Alberta is not an exception.
The Alberta Teacher's Association is formally against standardized testing.
These were different than Provincial Achievement Tests because they assessed only one core subject (English language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science) a year.
[6] In 2017, Alberta Education doubled students' allowed writing time for all provincial standardized tests.