Performance Reporting

Goal 1: Improved Student Achievement

Outcomes:

• Students complete K-12
• Students demonstrate strong academic and life skills capabilities

There are eight performance measures for Goal 1: Improved Student Achievement. These measures include equity group breakout results (special needs, Aboriginal, male and female).

Performance Highlights of 2002/03

• School completion rate (percentage of students who start grade 8 and graduate from grade 12 within 6 years) Overall results have steadily improved. In 2002/03 the student completion rate was higher than ever before, with a record 79 per cent of students graduating. This is up two per cent over the results of the previous year.
• Percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) The overall results for reading, numeracy and writing in grades 4, 7 and 10 show improvement over the last reporting year¹³ (2001/02). Grade 4 student results in numeracy increased by two per cent, grade 7 student results in reading increased by one per cent and two per cent in numeracy, and grade 10 student results increased by three per cent in reading and two per cent in numeracy.
• Percentage of grade 12 students receiving scholarships The percentage of students receiving scholarships increased from 7.2 per cent in 2001/02 to 7.7 per cent in 2002/03.
• Percentage of grade 12 graduates making transitions to work and/or post-secondary education The most current data shows one per cent increase in students attending post-secondary full time, while the percentage of graduates working full time remained constant.¹⁴
• Percentage of students in agreement with statements reflective of socially responsible behavior The 2001/02 school year was the baseline for Satisfaction Surveys, and the overall results for 2002/03 have remained consistent with the previous years' results. Grades 3 and 4 saw a 1 per cent increase, from 91 per cent to 92 per cent; grade 7 saw a 1 per cent increase, from 88 per cent to 89 per cent; grade 10 remained unchanged at 81 per cent; and grade 12 saw a decrease of 1 per cent, from 83 per cent to 82 per cent.¹⁵
• Grade 8-9 transition rate The transition rate (the percentage of students in grade 8 in one year attending grade 9 the following year) has remained constant at 95 per cent over the last four years.
• Percentage of students with "C" or better in grade 12 courses Student achievement in 2002/03 improved in the areas of Communications and English (Communications saw a 2 per cent increase, from 79 per cent to 81 per cent; English increased by 1 per cent, from 78 per cent to 79 per cent). In Principles of Mathematics, achievement remained at 75 per cent, which represents no change over the previous year.¹⁶
• British Columbia's standing on national and international assessments BC students perform well when compared to students in other jurisdictions.

Opportunities for Improvement

• Percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations on Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) Both grade 7 and grade 10 students showed a slight decrease in writing assessment scores (grade 7 decreased 5 per cent from 84 per cent to 79 per cent; grade 10 decreased 4 per cent, from 87 per cent to 83 per cent).¹⁷
• Aboriginal school completion rate (percentage of students who start grade 8 and graduate from grade 12 within 6 years) The completion rate for Aboriginal students has improved to 46 per cent in 2002/03, increasing by four per cent over 2001/02. The ministry will continue to support and measure Aboriginal student performance as part of its efforts to increase equity in the education system.

Goal 1: Performance Measures

*Note:	In the following tables, data updates for the reporting year are marked with symbols.
	indicates an increase over the previous reporting year,
	indicates a decrease, and
=	indicates no change.

Performance Measure: Completion rate

Related Core Business Areas:

Public and Independent Schools

Per cent of students who graduate with a Dogwood Diploma within six years of starting Grade 8 for the first time in a BC public or independent school.¹⁸

School Year	Completion Rate
1998/99	74
1999/00	75
2000/01	76
2001/02	77
2002/03	79

Target: The target for this measure is year over year improvement.

Performance Measure: Completion rate by breakout group

Related Core Business Areas:

Public and Independent Schools

Breakout group	1998/99	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02	2002/03
Aboriginal Students	37	39	42	42	46
Male Students	70	71	72	73	75
Female Students	79	80	81	82	83
ESL Students1	75	76	77	79	81
French Immersion Students	92	92	92	94	93
Gifted		88	100	100	100 =

Summary:

Completion rates are the most important measure of the success of our education system, and the ministry continues to meet its target of continued improvement in this category. In the year 2002/03 the highest percentage ever of students graduated (79 per cent).

Why this Measure is Important:

The Dogwood certificate was chosen as a performance measure because it is tangible evidence that a student has succeeded in the K-12 education system, and because it acts as a passport to either post-secondary education or the job market. In our society, young adults have a far better chance to succeed with a high school certificate. Unlike most other provinces, the Ministry of Education tracks (and collects annually) each individual child's data through the use of a Personal Education Number (PEN). This means the ministry tracks individual students through the system, making the data extremely accurate.

Target: The target for this measure is year over year improvement.

Performance Measure: FSA Results

Related Core Business Areas:

Public and Independent Schools.

Per cent of Grade 4 students meeting or exceeding expectations¹⁹

School Year	Reading	Writing	Numeracy
1999/00	79	N/A	80
2000/01	78	91	84
2001/02	80	94	85
2002/03	77	94 =	87

Per cent of Grade 7 students meeting or exceeding expectations

School Year	Reading	Writing	Numeracy
1999/00	81	N/A	80
2000/01	76	81	81
2001/02	76	84	82
2002/03	77	79	84

Per cent of Grade 10 students meeting or exceeding expectations

School Year	Reading	Writing	Numeracy
1999/00	79	N/A	75
2000/01	75	86	77
2001/02	71	87	76
2002/03	74	83	78

Summary:

Student achievement increased in the majority of the FSA assessed areas, decreases were reported in three areas; reading grade 4 and writing for grades 7 and 10.

Why this Measure is Important:

The FSA performance measure is important because it serves as a warning that can alert educators to problems at an early stage, and allows for proactive response. The data gathered from the FSA tests also gives all levels of the education system an opportunity to plan more effectively and to focus on priorities. FSA testing provides a look at broad issues, such as an increase or decrease in reading skills, and allows a focused response at the individual school level, the district level or the provincial level. FSA is a standardized measure, designed by BC teachers to reflect the BC education system's curriculum. The margin of error for FSA data is less than 0.01 per cent provincially. The tests are administered annually, and the data is collected annually. The FSA tests specifically target reading, writing and numeracy skills, but do not cover the broad spectrum of the BC curriculum. Student participation in FSA is generally above 90 per cent.

Target: The target for this measure is year over year improvement.

Performance Measure: Grade 8-9 Transition Rate

Related Core Business Areas:

Public and Independent Schools

Per cent of students making a successful transition from grades 8 to 9²⁰

Summary:

The majority of BC students continue to make the transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9.

Why this Measure is Important:

The transition from grade 8 to grade 9 is a key measure because grade 8 is the earliest point at which most students drop out of school. The grade 8-9 transition rate is an important measure for alerting educators that there may be a serious problem that requires immediate attention; keeping this rate as high as possible gives students the best chance at completing high school and having a productive and successful life. If a student fails to make this critical transition, there is little likelihood that he or she will ever complete high school, and all the attending problems are liable to appear (high unemployment rates, higher incarceration rates, welfare dependence). The data for this measure is collected on an annual basis. Each student is tracked using the PEN, which results in an almost negligible margin of error.

Target: The target for this measure is year over year improvement.

Performance Measure: Percentage of students with "C" or better in grade 12 courses, percentage of grade 12 students receiving scholarships

Related Core Business:

Public and Independent Schools

	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02	2002/03
C or better in grade 12 courses1
Communications	75	70	79	81
English Language Arts	70	75	78	79
Principles of Mathematics	66	70	75	75 =
Scholarships for grade 12 Students
Receiving Scholarships	—	7.4	7.2	7.7

Summary:

BC students improved in two of three subject areas this year.

More BC students received scholarships this year.

Why this Measure is Important:

Measuring the per cent of students who achieve a 'C' or better in grade 12 courses is similar to measuring completion rates, but allows for a more refined analysis. In essence, this is a measure of students who have the potential to move on to post-secondary education. The percentage of grade 12 students who graduate with a 'C' or better is measured annually, and tracked by individual students, so there is virtually no margin of error. BC's reputation for a high quality education system is reflected in the high number of scholarships awarded. There is a fixed academic score required to receive a BC provincial scholarship, and the number of students who receive scholarships is reported annually, with a very low margin for error.

Target: The target for this measure is year over year improvement.

Performance Measure: Percentage of Students making transitions to work and/or post-secondary²¹

Related Core Business Areas:

Public and Independent Schools

	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02	2002/03
Graduates in Transition Survey1 (%)
Attending post-secondary full-time	52	52	53	54
Attending post-secondary part-time	5	5	8	5
Working	38	38	33	33 =
Unemployed looking for work	2	—	1	2
Unemployed not looking for work	1	1	2	1
Other	2	4	3	5
19 year olds employed full-time	31	29	30	28

Summary:

The percentage of students making the transition to post-secondary and the job market is consistent or increasing in most categories (for more information, see Appendix E).

Why this Measure is Important:

Collecting data on students who successfully make the transition from school to post-secondary education or to employment is a measure of how successful the education system is in meeting the needs of students. A key goal of the education system is to prepare students for the job market, or for further study. The resources that are dedicated to this outcome are well spent if it can be shown that school improves a student's human, social and career development.

The data for this measure are collected annually by survey. The margin for error is approximately +/- 5 per cent, due to the small sample size. As the survey looks at students who have only been out of school for one year, it does not include students who may take a year off for travel, or those who have left school before they graduated, but may have found employment.

Target: The target for this measure is year over year improvement.

Performance Measure: Percentage of students in agreement with statements reflective of socially responsible behaviour

Related Core Business Area:

Public Schools

Per cent of Public School Students in Agreement with Statements Reflective of Socially Responsible Behaviour1	2001/02	2002/03
Grade 3/4	91	92
Grade 7	88	89
Grade 10	81	81 =
Grade 12	83	82

Summary:

Overall, the rate of students in agreement with statements reflective of socially responsible behaviour has remained relatively constant over the last reporting year.

Why this Measure is Important:

Canada has a culturally diverse population, and as a society it is important to promote tolerance and respect for others. Human and social development is an important part of the K-12 education system. The data collected can be used by student planning councils in creating school performance plans. The measure is standardized throughout BC and it is measured through the annual provincial satisfaction survey, which provides data for every school. It should be noted that this measure consists of a single question. Participation rates for the survey decline as students progress through the K-12 education system.

Target: The target for this measure is year-over-year improvement.

Performance Measure: BC's standing on national and international assessments

Related Core Business Areas:

Public and Independent Schools

PISA²² — (Program for International Student Assessment) testing is administered every three years. At the time of publication updated data was unavailable for reporting purposes. However, it is important to note that in 2000 thirty-two countries participated in PISA and British Columbia ranked ahead of the Canadian average in every area of PISA assessment. PISA assessment results will be available in upcoming annual service plan reports.

SAIP²³ — (School Achievement Indicators Program) is a cross-Canada assessment of students' mathematical, science and writing skills. SAIP mathematics assessment was last administered in 2001, while SAIP writing assessments were last administered in 2002.

TIMSS²⁴ — (Third International Mathematics and Science Survey) is an international assessment of educational jurisdictions performance in the areas of mathematics and science. TIMSS was last performed in 2003, results were unavailable at time of publication.

*Note: For a detailed breakdown of international assessment results, please see Appendix F*

Summary:

BC students perform well on national and international assessments, these assessments provide a snapshot of student performance.

Why this is Important:

As BC competes on the national and international stage, it is important to know the performance of BC students in relation to students in other jurisdictions. Data for this performance measure is only applicable at the provincial level, and is not usable at the school and district levels.

Target: The target for this measure is year-over-year improvement.