TORONTO – Nine out of 10 Canadian middle school students are meeting expectations in math, with those in Quebec and Ontario leading the pack, a new report suggests.
Results for the second edition of the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program indicate nearly half of Grade 8 students have surpassed the math requirements for their level.
The test is administered every three years to thousands of students across the country and measures whether they have attained the math, reading and science skills they should for that grade.
The results released Monday are “definitely encouraging,” said Andrew Parkin, director of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, the body behind the test and the report.
At the same time, the results suggest roughly 10 per cent of students aren’t keeping up, he said.
“The utility of studies like this is that it can also help you zero in on where you need to do more work,” he added.
While the fledgling test hasn’t been used enough to establish any long-term trends, “it’s enough to say there’s no erosion of performance,” he said.
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The assessment is meant to round out similar tests conducted in each province and provide an even base on which to compare student performance.
Last year’s round focused on math, checking students’ ability to carry out processes such as using a formula, to identify simple patterns and to solve clearly defined problems.
There were significant regional variations.
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Students in Quebec and Ontario placed above the national mean score for math, with Alberta on par.
Those in other jurisdictions landed below the Canadian mean score, though Prince Edward Island fared worst of all.
Alberta and Ontario pulled ahead in science, the only two above the national mean.
British Columbia and Prince Edward Island stuck close to the mean, while the remainder dropped below.
The top spot for reading went to Ontario, which secured a significant lead over runner-up Alberta. British Columbia wasn’t far behind, but the others fell below the national mean.
Overall, girls outclassed boys in reading and science, but there was no significant difference between the two in math, the report reads.
“This is not new, but I think it’s going to feed into the conversation that more people are having about the situation of boys in school,” Parkin said.
The organization plans to issue a follow-up report in the coming months that will look at the factors affecting student performance, he said, noting “there are very few simple answers” in these kinds of assessments.
About 32,000 Grade 8 students from 10 provinces and one territory took the test in 2010.
The next edition is slated for 2013 and will emphasize science.
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