Provincial Testing

National and International Testing

National Testing

International Testing

Alberta participates in studies of achievement on an ongoing basis. At the national level, students have been involved in the School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP). SAIP is now replaced by the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP).

Alberta also participates in international studies of achievement, along with other provinces and countries. These include: Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

A summary of the results from national and international studies is provided in the following chart:  Performance of Alberta Students on National and International Assessments chart.

Additional details about these achievement studies and related news releases are provided below.

National Testing

School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP)

Since 1993, Alberta has participated in SAIP, conducted across Canada by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Through SAIP, CMEC has administered assessments of achievement in mathematics, reading/writing, and science for students aged 13 and 16 across Canada.

Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP)

Following the 2004 SAIP Science III assessment, the SAIP program was replaced by a new national assessment program, PCAP, which assess the achievement of Grade 8 Canadian students. It includes mathematics, reading, and science in each assessment, one being the major area and the other two being the minor areas to be assessed. The first PCAP assessment was administered in 2007 with a focus on reading. The second PCAP was administered in spring 2010 with a focus on mathematics. 

International Testing

Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

The last PISA assessment was held in the spring of 2009, when 15-year-old students from more than 100 schools across Alberta participated. The major domain of PISA was reading, with mathematics and science the secondary areas assessed. As before, the study included questionnaires for students and principals, providing information about instructional approaches and learning environments of students learning reading and language arts. Previously PISA studies were completed in 2000, 2003 and 2006.

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006

In April 2006, Alberta students from approximately 150 Grade 4 classes across the province participated in the PIRLS. This study included a test, which was in two forty-minute parts, as well as a questionnaire about students’ individual experiences with reading. The study also included questionnaires for the teachers and parents, and for the school principal, designed to provide information about the instructional approaches and contexts for students’ reading. Additional information about this study is provided below.

For more information, please visit the IEA web site, http://isc.bc.edu/pirls2006/index.html.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

In the spring of 2007, approximately 4,000 Grade 4 students from 146 schools in Alberta participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study as a benchmarking jurisdiction.

The TIMSS compares student achievement in mathematics and science in more than 60 different educational systems. Alberta also participated in TIMSS in 1995 and 1999 (it was then named the Third International Mathematics and Science Study).

2007 TIMSS results

News release: Alberta students place 4th in the world in science

Charts
TIMSS 2007 Grade 4 Mathematics Achievement
TIMSS 2007 Grade 4 Science Achievement
Differences in Grade 4 Mathematics between TIMSS 1995 and TIMSS 2007
Differences in Grade 4 Science between TIMSS 1995 and TIMSS 2007

For more information about the TIMSS, visit http://timss.bc.edu/TIMSS2007/index.html

Previous TIMSS results