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May 27, 2003
Alberta students' writing skills among best in the country
Edmonton...Alberta students scored among the highest in the country in writing, according to a 2002 Canada-wide assessment. Alberta had the third highest percentage of students achieving the target levels for both age groups tested, finishing behind Ontario and Manitoba for age 13 and Quebec and Manitoba for age 16.
"Alberta consistently shows it has one of the best education systems in Canada, and its students continue to receive top marks thanks to the hard work of its teachers, the high quality curriculum and effective student assessment program," said Dr. Lyle Oberg, Minister of Learning.
"When you combine these results with other national and international testing results, there is a clear pattern of success."
As part of the 2002 writing assessment, questionnaires were administered to principals, teachers, and students, to gather information about the learning environments across the country. The following are some of the interesting findings from the survey:
- The results for class size are in the opposite direction from expectations and from some research on class size (though consistent with earlier national and international results). In this case, larger classes tend to be associated with higher achievement. However, the report does indicate that achievement may be influenced by many other factors.
- Findings from the questionnaires highlight the importance of reading for enjoyment, homework, educational aspirations and student and parent communication.
- Students who spent more time watching television tended to have poorer writing skills.
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 200 Alberta schools and 1,500 students participated in the 2002 assessment conducted by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Previous assessments include reading and writing in 1994 and 1998, science in 1996 and 1999, and mathematics in 1993, 1997 and 2000. In light of changes in test design and scoring for the Writing Assessment III 2002, direct comparisons over time between the 1998 and 2002 results are not appropriate.
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For more information contact:
Mark Cooper
Learning Communications
(780) 427-0965
Cell: (780) 718-2370
To be connected toll free dial 310-0000
Backgrounder
Alberta Test Results:
- 82.6% of Alberta 13-year-old students achieved at level 2 (target level) or above, compared with 82.4% nationally.
- 59.2% of Alberta 16-year-old students achieved level 3 (target level) or above, compared with 57.7% nationally.
Questionnaire Results:
- The results for class size are in the opposite direction from expectations and from some research on class size (though consistent with earlier national and international results). In this case, larger classes tend to be associated with higher achievement. However, the report does indicate that achievement may be influenced by many other factors.
- According to the CMEC report, average marks assigned by Alberta teachers tend to be lowest of the provinces (except for the two territories). This, when compared with the SAIP results, shows the lowest level of grade inflation in Alberta.
- As expected, higher achievement is associated with higher socio-economic status and higher educational aspirations. Mother's education is positively correlated with achievement. Similar results are found for father's education and for mother's and father's occupation.
- Parental involvement is an important influential factor in student writing achievement. Student and parent communication, such as students discussing daily activities and schoolwork with parents, is positively associated with achievement. Parent interaction with school staff on matters affecting their own children is positively correlated with achievement for 13-year-olds.
- Time spent on homework or studying in language arts is positively associated with achievement. However, there is a negative association for students working with parents on homework. Other out-of-school activities, including reading for enjoyment, using e-mail, writing in a diary or journal, and using a computer for school work or entertainment, show positive relationships with achievement. Nevertheless, time spent watching television correlates negatively with achievement.
Backgrounder
SAIP Writing Assessment III 2002
Percentage of Students Achieving at the Expected Levels
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Percentage of Students |
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Age of Students |
Performance Level |
2002 |
Pan-Canadian Expectations a |
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Alberta |
Canada-E |
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13 years |
Level 1 or above |
94.0 |
95.6 |
95.0 |
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Level 2 or above |
82.6 |
82.4 |
83.0 |
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Level 3 or above |
40.2 |
39.9 |
45.0 |
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Level 4 or above |
6.3 |
6.7 |
10.0 |
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Level 5 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
3.0 |
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16 years |
Level 1 or above |
97.4 |
95.0 |
97.0 |
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Level 2 or above |
89.9 b |
86.5 |
90.0 |
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Level 3 or above |
59.2 c |
57.7 c |
70.0 |
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Level 4 or above |
21.4 |
18.0 |
25.0 |
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Level 5 |
2.9 |
2.2 |
5.0 |
a
The value represents a median of the range expectations. Student performance, if within the range, is considered to meet the expectations.b Alberta 16-year-olds performed significantly better (p <.05) than Canada (English) at level 2.
c Alberta 16-year-olds, while performing slightly better than Canada (English), did not meet the pan-Canadian Expectations.
No statistically significant differences on any other comparison. More detailed information related to the results of SAIP Writing Assessment III 2002 can be found on the CMEC Web site at www.cmec.ca.
Copyright(c); 2003 Government of Alberta
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