Performance Reporting

Goal 2: A High Quality Performance-oriented Education System

Outcomes:

• Access to quality education for all students
• Learning choices for students and parents
• Evidence-based goals are used to improve achievement
• Increased efficiency and effectiveness throughout the system

Performance Highlights:

Percentage of students satisfied with what they are learning at school
In 2002/03 there was an overall increase of student's satisfaction with their education compared to the 2001/02 school year across all of the surveyed grades.

Percentage of parents satisfied with what their children are learning at school
The percentage of parents satisfied with what their children are learning at school increased in 2002/03, elementary school parents' satisfaction increased by four per cent while secondary school parents' satisfaction increased by five per cent.

Percentage of school staff satisfied with the academic performance of their students
Staff satisfaction with the academic performance of their students remained consistent with the previous year's figure of 71 per cent.

Percentage of students that feel their school is helping improve their computer skills
The 2002/03 school year was the baseline for Satisfaction Surveys²⁵.

Percentage of education partners who report that the funding system is understandable, transparent and comprehensive
Baseline data for this performance measure will be collected in September, 2004.

Proportion of buildings with life expectancy under 10 years
This year the percentage of buildings with life expectancy under ten years is approximately 14 per cent.

Number of visits to ministry Website
The number of page views for the BC Ministry of Education's website almost doubled in the 2002/03 school year, reaching almost 15 million page views.

BC's standing on national and international assessments
BC students performed well in a cross Canada assessment of students' writing skills, finishing second overall. International assessments were performed in 2003, and will be covered in the next Annual Service Plan Report.

Opportunities for Improvement:

BC's standing on national and international assessments
The 2000 assessments showed that in one area, Mathematics problem-solving 13 year-olds, BC performed at a level statistically below Canada as a whole. To improve on this measure the ministry has encouraged school boards to include math problem solving in their district accountability plans.

Percentage of students satisfied with their school and education
Although student satisfaction increased across all grade levels in 2002/03, the satisfaction rate of students declines as they progress through the K-12 education system. To address this the ministry has made changes to graduation requirements in order to promote relevance and choice in grades 10-12 in an effort to improve high school student satisfaction levels.

Percentage of students feel that their school is helping improve their computer skills
A low percentage of secondary students feel their school helps to develop their computer skills²⁶ (Grade 10 — 42 per cent, Grade 12 — 39 per cent). In an effort to improve on this measure this ministry is providing more funding for computers for schools, and students will address information technology in their graduation portfolios.

Goal 2: Performance Measures

Targets:

The target for Goal 2 performance measures is continued improvement at the school and district level.

Note: Many of the performance measures for Goal 2 are from the Satisfaction Survey²⁷ and are therefore presented together in the following tables:

Performance Measure: Percentage of parents satisfied with what their children are learning at school²⁸

Related Core Business Areas:

• Public Schools

	2001/02	2002/03
Elementary Parents	75	79
Secondary Parents	64	69

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

Performance Measure: Percentage of students satisfied with what they are learning at school²⁹

Related Core Business Areas:

• Public Schools

	2001/02	2002/03
Grade 3 & 4	72	74
Grade 7	48	50
Grade 10	36	39
Grade 12	39	42

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

Performance Measure: Percentage of school staff satisfied with the academic performance of students³⁰

Related Core Business Areas:

• Public Schools

Summary:

Although there have been increases in all the levels of satisfaction listed above, there is room for improvement. Areas of particular note are the levels of satisfaction of secondary parents, and the overall decline in student satisfaction as they progress through the K-12 system.

Why this Measure is Important:

Assessment of the satisfaction of parents, students and staff is key to determining the performance of the education system. The Ministry of Education depends on the support of both parents and taxpayers as a whole to achieve its goals. Since the data is gathered annually at the school level it can be incorporated into school performance plans. The data does have limitations — it is affected by participation rates, and is not based on a random sample³¹. Also, the boycott of the 2002/03 satisfaction survey by the British Columbia Teachers' Federation impacted staff participation rates.

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

Performance Measure: Percentage of students that feel their school is helping improve their computer skills

Related Core Business Areas:

• Public Schools

Summary:

The percentage of students that feel their schools are helping them improve their computer skills decreases significantly from grade 3 to grade 12.

Why this Measure is Important:

The data from this performance measure is drawn from the annual satisfaction survey, administered by the Ministry of Education. It was chosen as a measure because of the increasing demand for a labour force skilled in information technology. Though the measure is standardized and may be used at the school level for assessment and planning, it does have drawbacks. The measure is not robust, is affected by participation rates and is also a statement of opinion, not of fact.

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

Performance Measure: Proportion of buildings with life expectancy under 10 years

Related Core Business Area: Public Schools

Summary:

The ministry provides capital funding to school boards for public schools. Local school boards set capital project priorities for school districts.

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

Performance Measure: Number of BC Ministry of Education web page views³²

Related Core Business Areas:

Public Schools and Independent Schools

September 2001 to August 2002	September 2002 to August 2003	2003/04 Target
7,888,869	14,775,517	Additional 3 million page views.

Summary:

2001/02 was the baseline and the target was to increase the number of visitor sessions by one million in the following year. However, a more accurate measure of website use, 'page views' was introduced. The number of page views nearly doubled from the school year 2001/02 to 2002/03. For the school year 2003/04 the target for increased page views is an additional three million. However, many factors contribute to website usage, such as overall trends in Internet usage in BC.

Why this Measure is Important:

This performance measure was instituted in an effort to measure the success of the ministry in making its information available to the public in a relevant and user-friendly format. Data for this measure is drawn from ministry web reports, and 'page views' are complied on a monthly basis. A page view is recorded when a unique computer internet protocol address accesses the ministry's website.