September 28, 2006

Alberta students continue to get high marks on provincial tests

Edmonton… Alberta's students continue to achieve strong results on provincial diploma exams and on Grades 3, 6 and 9 provincial achievement tests written in the 2005-06 school year.

"Our students should be commended for continually demonstrating strong results on the provincial achievement tests and diploma exams," said Alberta Education Minister Gene Zwozdesky. "Our teachers are doing incredible work with students in the classroom, and these results reflect that."

Among the highlights this year is improved student performance in Grade 6 Language Arts and Grade 9 Social Studies.

Overall, 76.8% of all Alberta Grade 3, 6 and 9 students achieved the acceptable standard on the provincial achievement tests and over 19% met the standard of excellence in 2005-06; however, these results are slightly lower (less than 1%) than the provincial achievement test results of the last few years.

Alberta Education has programs in place to help address any decline in results. For example, many of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) projects focus on numeracy in the early grades and may prove helpful in addressing this year's 3 % drop in Grade 6 Mathematics. Every school authority in the province receives AISI funding for school improvement projects, and about $400 million has been invested to support almost 1,300 AISI projects since AISI's inception in 1999. The investment for 2006-07 school year is over $71 million.

"Provincial achievement test results help us to define areas where instructional programs can be improved, as we strive to enhance student learning," Zwozdesky added.

Students also achieved strong results on Grade 12 diploma exams with more than 81% of students achieving the acceptable standard in all courses, except Applied Mathematics 30.

Note: Applied Math 30 results cannot be compared to previous years due to a new approach in scoring. After this year, however, it will be possible to compare subsequent results to those obtained in 2006 to determine trends.

Alberta Education works in collaboration with Alberta teachers to develop, administer and mark provincial achievement tests and diploma exams.

Backgrounder

Provincial test results show students achieving high standards

Diploma Exam Facts and statistics:

Each school year, the numbers of students writing the diploma exams varies by course. The largest numbers are in English Language Arts 30-1 (approx. 28,000), Social Studies 30 (approx. 24,000), and Pure Mathematics 30 (approx. 22,000). The smallest is French Language Arts 30 (approx. 1,100).
The numbers writing the exams in other courses are: Biology 30 (approx. 20,500), Chemistry 30 (approx. 17,500); English Language Arts 30-2 (approx. 12,500); Social Studies 33 (approx. 14,500); Applied Mathematics 30 (approx. 10,000); Physics (approx. 11,000); and Science 30 (approx 3,600).
In the Grade 3, 6, and 9 achievement tests, approximately 42,000 students per grade wrote the tests.
Approximately 1,000 teachers participate in marking of diploma exams for each session (January and June), and about 500 teachers mark achievement tests

Grade 12 Diploma Exams-Percentage of students achieving provincial standards

	2001-02		2002-03		2003-04		2004-05		2005-06
	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)
English 30 – 1	–	–	–	–	92	19	89	18	88	19
English 30 – 2	–	–	–	–	85	7	89	10	86	8
French Language Arts 30	–	–	95	15	95	17	95	19	95	22
Social Studies 30	86	21	87	22	86	24	85	24	86	24
Social Studies 33	81	11	82	13	83	15	85	18	84	19
Pure Math 30	82	28	84	27	84	32	81	26	83	27
Applied Math 30	85	14	85	14	86	14	88	22	78	12
Biology 30	84	26	81	22	82	27	82	27	81	26
Chemistry 30	82	24	85	25	86	28	88	33	88	37
Physics 30	84	33	82	25	87	30	84	28	84	30
Science 30	82	12	88	20	84	17	88	22	83	17
The diploma examination is worth 50 % of a student's final course mark and the school-awarded mark is worth 50 %. A new program of studies was implemented in English 30-1, and English 30-2 in 2003-04; therefore, there are no results prior to the implementation. The first administration of diploma exams for French Language Arts 30 was held in 2003-04, therefore, there are no results prior to that implementation. A new form of scoring called equating is being phased into many courses. Therefore, results are not directly comparable for the following diploma examinations: Social Studies 30 and 33 prior to 2003-04, and Chemistry 30, Physics 30 and Pure Mathematics 30 prior to 2004-05, and Applied Math 30, English 30-1, English 30-2 and Biology 30 prior to 2005-06

Equating is a standard process used in large-scale testing to adjust for variations in the difficulty of different tests. Equating involves the use of a baseline exam to which all subsequent exams in the course are compared and marks are adjusted accordingly by provincial markers. Three years of data is best to determine overall trends.
All diploma examinations are now equated, with the exception of Science 30, Français 30, and French Language Arts 30. These courses will not be part of the equating process due to small enrollments.

Achievement Tests Facts and Statistics:

Alberta Education provides two sets of achievement results - one for the entire group of Alberta students in each of Grades 3, 6 and 9, including those who did not write, and one showing the results of only those students who wrote the tests.
The importance of looking at results for all students and getting an overall picture of student success is demonstrated, for example, when a school shows dramatic increases from one year to the next, but the number of students who wrote the test has dropped significantly.
Provincial tests tell parents how well their children are doing against provincial standards and if they are learning what is expected. The tests are designed to complement teachers' assessments and are only one indicator of how well students are meeting provincial, grade-level standards.
Provincial tests contribute to improving classroom learning. Teachers and schools use the results to identify areas for improvement, and develop action plans to enhance student understanding in specific areas of the curriculum.
Provincial tests tell school authorities how well students have progressed and whether results have improved over time. Overall, the tests show how well students are learning the Alberta curriculum and which areas of the curriculum need improvement.
Provincial tests tell school authorities how well students have progressed in relation to achievement targets and whether or not results have improved over time. Overall, the tests show how well students are learning the Alberta curriculum and which areas of the curriculum need improvement.

	Results for All Students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 (including those who did not write achievement tests)
	2001-02		2002-03		2003-04		2004-05		2005-06
	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)
Grade 3
Language Arts	81.2	14.9	82.4	15.7	81.7	15.1	82.2	16.2	81.3	14.1
Mathematics	81.2	26.7	82.3	29.8	81.8	27.4	80.3	26.1	82.0	26.9
Grade 6
Language Arts	80.8	15.1	81.2	17.3	79.1	15.5	77.3	15.5	79.0	15.9
Mathematics	78.3	18.1	78.3	17.7	78.5	21.2	78.2	18.1	75.2	15.6
Science	79.5	22.6	80.0	24.1	80.6	26.2	79.8	26.0	78.1	27.7
Social Studies	78.3	19.4	79.0	20.3	78.6	19.7	78.4	21.5	78.6	22.9
Grade 9
Language Arts	78.5	14.6	78.0	13.5	77.6	12.4	77.9	14.0	77.4	13.6
Mathematics	64.5	16.7	63.5	17.6	66.1	18.9	68.0	19.7	67.4	17.4
Science	-	-	-	-	66.6	12.1	67.5	12.8	67.4	13.3
Social Studies	73.8	18.0	72.6	18.7	73.1	20.0	71.3	18.3	72.5	18.9
The percentages achieving the acceptable standard include the percentages achieving the standard of excellence. A new program of studies was implemented in Grade 9 Science in 2003-04. Therefore the results are not comparable to years prior to implementation.

	Results for Students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 who wrote achievement tests
	2001-02		2002-03		2003-04		2004-05		2005-06
	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)	Acceptable (% students)	Excellence (% students)
Grade 3
Language Arts	89.6	16.4	90.1	17.2	90.2	16.7	91.1	18.0	89.8	15.6
Mathematics	88.7	29.2	89.3	32.4	89.2	29.9	88.5	28.8	90.3	29.7
Grade 6
Language Arts	88.6	16.5	89.2	19.0	87.0	17.0	85.9	17.2	87.6	17.7
Mathematics	85.2	19.7	85.6	19.3	86.2	23.3	86.0	20.0	83.0	17.2
Science	86.7	24.6	87.9	26.5	88.3	28.8	88.0	28.6	86.8	30.8
Social Studies	85.9	21.3	86.4	22.3	86.4	21.7	87.0	23.9	86.8	25.3
Grade 9
Language Arts	89.8	16.7	89.2	15.4	88.9	14.2	89.1	16.1	88.2	15.5
Mathematics	73.7	19.1	72.6	20.1	75.4	21.5	77.7	22.5	77.2	20.0
Science	-	-	-	-	75.2	13.6	76.5	14.5	76.5	15.1
Social Studies	83.2	20.3	82.8	21.3	82.6	22.6	81.1	20.8	82.0	21.3
The percentages achieving the acceptable standard include the percentages achieving the standard of excellence. A new program of studies was implemented in Grade 9 Science in 2003-04. Therefore the results are not comparable to years prior to implementation.

Acceptable Standard

Students meeting the acceptable standard demonstrate an understanding of the curriculum’s core learning outcomes. Typically the cut score (score that represents minimum expected standard) is set at approximately 50 %, and is adjusted in subsequent years to ensure that the standard remains constant even if test difficulty varies slightly from year to year. a

Standard of Excellence

Students meeting the standard of excellence demonstrate a mastery of the curriculum's core learning outcomes. Typically the cut score (score that represents minimum expected standard) is set at approximately 80 %, and is adjusted in subsequent years to ensure that the standard remains constant even if test difficulty varies slightly from year to year.

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