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The results of our provincial assessments in math, reading and writing have been sent home with students and are available online, says Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Alan McIsaac.

“We use assessments to identify gaps in learning and implement targeted interventions to support student achievement. We are very encouraged by the gains students are making in mathematics, as a result of these interventions,” said Minister McIsaac. “In some areas of writing, we have concerns about our students’ results, so we will use this assessment data to guide our efforts in supporting student writing.”

The assessments show significant improvements in math with 75 percent of Grade 6 students at or approaching the standard in math, a 14 percent increase over last year. Grade 9 math assessment results also continue to show improvement. Teachers at these grade levels, along with Grades 7-10 math teachers, are currently involved in an intensive provincial formative assessment project and feedback from teachers has been extremely positive.

Trends over time in reading comprehension at the Grade 3, Grade 6 and Grade 9 levels show that the investments in intervention programs are providing results. Interventions include instructional coaches, early literacy intervention projects, new curriculum and resources, and professional learning for Grade K-9 teachers.

Students are assessed in three writing traits – ideas, organization, and conventions. While students meet expectations in one trait, they find it challenging to demonstrate a strong performance in all three traits in one piece of writing. The department is planning to review writing assessment results to find ways to help students improve in this area.

“We see improvements in student achievement when there is collaboration among educational partners, along with investments in professional learning that focus on effective instructional strategies,” said Minister McIsaac. “When we are aligned in our goals, our students benefit. This collaborative effort has resulted in positive trends in student learning over the past few years and by working together, we will continue to see improvements in student achievement.”

Parents are encouraged to take time to review the material and discuss the results with their child’s teacher. The assessments give parents and teachers an idea of how well students are doing in reading, writing and math at critical stages of learning. For more information and to view results, visit www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/studentassessment.

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