EDMONTON – The results of the Alberta diploma and provincial achievement exams have been released, and it looks like students in the Edmonton Public School system are outperforming their peers across the province in a number of fields. But when it comes to staying in school, even though graduation rates are climbing, they’re still lower in Edmonton than the provincial average.
The new statistics show that last year in Edmonton Public, more than 76 per cent of students graduated (compared to nearly 84 per cent of students in the Edmonton Catholic School system) – that’s up nearly three per cent over the last five years, but still means one in every four students drops out.
“We usually find the highest rate of dropout is in that first semester of Grade 10. So we’re focusing lots of energy to make sure those kids are ready for that transition – that staff is on top of them,” said EPSB Chair Sarah Hoffman. “We’re going to keep focusing on what we can do to make sure our kids get across the finish line.”
“Every time a student is not successful…in a course or not successful in graduating…we have cause to do some work, to roll up our sleeves, to work together,” added Darrel Robertson, Superintendent of Schools.
At a number of schools across the city, there are some additional challenges this year. For instance, at Strathcona High School, the average core class size has risen to 35 students, and the school is dealing with roughly half a million dollars less in its budget.
“There’s no doubt we were affected by the provincial budget,” said the principal, Hans Van Ginhoven.
He explained that certain cuts were made, including reducing supplies as well as the money put into technology; Van Ginhoven said that it’s only a temporary solution.
“You can only do that for a year or two. But that was our method – saying our kids didn’t create this. They deserve the best possible education. I think we’ve done that. I’m hopeful we won’t see a result on our diploma results.”
When it comes to this year’s provincial achievement tests results of Grades three, six, and nine – Edmonton Public School students outperformed the provincial standard of excellence or acceptable standard in all areas except grade three Language Arts and French.
According to the school board, high school students showed strong results this year on diploma exams, slightly exceeding the province at the standard of excellence in all Science subjects; however, results at the acceptable standard and standard of excellence in English, Social Studies, Math and French declined.
You can see the full breakdown here. For specific school’s results, visit the EPSB website. To see how Calgary’s public schools performed, click here.
You can compare how Edmonton’s Catholic School test results stack up below:
With files from Fletcher Kent, Global News
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