Government of Alberta News Release
April 3, 2002
Alberta students achieve top marks in math
Edmonton... Alberta's 13 and 16-year-old students led the country with their best ever provincial results in mathematics, according to a 2001 Canada-wide assessment. Alberta students improved from the 1997 assessment when compared to nearly every other province and territory.
"Our students continue to perform among the best in Canada. We have excellent teachers, a solid curriculum and an effective student assessment program. Alberta sets high educational standards and our students continue to excel as they strive to meet those standards," said Dr. Lyle Oberg, Minister of Learning.
The mathematics assessment consists of two parts - students write either problem solving or mathematics content. Alberta students in both age groups and in both categories scored significantly higher than the overall Canadian results.
- Alberta's 13-year old students have moved to number one in problem solving and are number two in Canada in mathematics content.
- Alberta's 16-year old students are number one in Canada in problem solving and are second in mathematics content behind only Manitoba students who wrote in French.
"A significant focus has been put into improving mathematics learning in Alberta. With these results we have solid evidence from both this national assessment and the most recent international assessment that our efforts have clearly paid off," said Dr. Oberg.
The School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP) is designed to determine student performance in relation to Canada-wide standards. Performance is reported on the basis of five levels. Performance at level two or higher is expected of most 13-year-olds and level three or higher is expected of most 16-year-olds.
Approximately 100 Alberta schools and 2900 students participated in the 2001 assessment conducted by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Previous assessments include mathematics in 1993 and 1997, reading and writing in 1994 and 1998, and science in 1996 and 1999.
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Backgrounder and graphs attached.
** Note to the Editor: Dr. Lyle Oberg, Minister of Learning will be available for media interviews at 1:30 p.m. April 3 outside his office (#204 Legislature Building).
This announcement is available on the Internet at:
For more information contact:
Dr. Lyle Oberg - Minister of Learning - (780) 427-2025
David Hennig - Learning Communications - (780) 427-0965
To be connected toll free dial 310-0000
Backgrounder
SAIP MATHEMATICS 2001: PROBLEM SOLVING
Percentage of Students Achieving at the Expected Levels
|
Age of Students |
Performance Level |
1997 |
2001 Alberta |
2001 Canada |
2001 |
|
13 years |
Level 2 or above |
57.8 |
76.5 |
67.6 |
70.0 |
|
16 years |
Level 3 or above |
44.8 |
59.0 |
47.1 |
60.0 |
SAIP MATHEMATICS 2001: CONTENT
Percentage of Students Achieving at the Expected Levels
|
Age of Students |
Performance Level |
1997 |
2001 Alberta |
2001 Canada |
2001 |
|
13 years |
Level 2 or above |
64.7 |
70.6 |
64.4 |
70.0 |
|
16 years |
Level 3 or above |
61.4 |
60.5 |
49.7 |
60.0 |
SAIP Mathematics 2001 - Age 13
General overview of performance - % of 13 year olds in Performance Level 2 or higher (CONTENT)
SAIP Mathematics 2001 - Age 16
General overview of performance - % of 16 year olds in Performance Level 3 or higher (CONTENT)
Performance of Alberta Students on National and International Assessments
|
Assessment |
Group |
Alberta Relative |
Countries/Provinces With Results |
|
Third International Mathematics |
Mathematics, Grade 4 |
+ |
4 (Korea, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong) |
|
and Science Study (TIMSS) 1995 |
Science, Grade 4 |
+ |
1 (Korea) |
|
|
Science, Grade 8 |
+ |
1 (Singapore) |
|
|
Math Literacy, Grade 12 |
= |
1 (Netherlands) |
|
|
Science Literacy, Grade 12 |
+ |
0 |
|
|
Physics, Grade 12 |
= |
4 (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia) |
|
|
Advanced Math, Grade 12 |
+ |
1 (France) |
|
School Achievement Indicators |
Science, Age 13 (Level 2+) |
+ |
0 |
|
Program (SAIP) 1996 |
Science, Age 16 (Level 3+) |
+ |
0 |
|
SAIP 1997 |
Math Content, Age 13 |
= |
1 (Quebec-French) |
|
|
Math Content, Age 16 |
= |
3 (Quebec-French, Quebec-English, and Nova Scotia-French) |
|
|
Math Problem Solving, Age 13 |
+ |
1 (Quebec-French) |
|
|
Math Problem Solving, Age 16 |
+ |
1 (Quebec-French) |
|
SAIP 1998 |
Reading, Age 13 |
= |
1 (Quebec-French) |
|
|
Reading, Age 16 |
= |
1 (Quebec-French) |
|
|
Writing, Age 13 |
= |
0 |
|
|
Writing, Age 16 |
= |
2 (Nova Scotia-English and Newfoundland) |
|
TIMSS 1999 |
Mathematics, Grade 8 |
+ |
7 (Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Quebec, and Belgium) |
|
|
Science, Grade 8 |
+ |
0 |
|
SAIP 1999 |
Science, Age 13 |
+ |
0 |
|
|
Science, Age 16 |
+ |
0 |
|
Programme for International |
Reading, Age 15 |
+ |
0 |
|
Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 |
Mathematics, Age 15 |
+ |
0 |
|
|
Science, Age 15 |
+ |
0 |
|
SAIP 2001 |
Math Content, Age 13 Math Content, Age 16 Math Problem Solving, Age 13 Math Problem Solving, Age 16 |
+ + + + |
0 0 0 0 |
|
NB |
Ì |
Alberta results significantly higher than overall national or international results |
|
|
= |
Alberta results not significantly different than overall national or international results |
|
|
- |
Alberta results significantly lower than overall national or international results |
Copyright(c); 2002 Government of Alberta
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