In 2011, there was a buzz about the PHRD boardroom when the Provincial Achievement Test and Diploma Exam results were released.
Area students were exceeding the provincial average in six tests, covering Math, Science and English Language Arts. A sense of euphoria was almost palpable.
There was none of that last Wednesday when this year’s results were publicly disclosed. The figures weren’t poor, they weren’t brilliant, they were satisfactory. That’s what happens when you follow a stellar year like 2011. It’s like the sequel to a great movie – it is hard to repeat the success. Expectations are raised, and almost inevitably the performance doesn’t quite live up to them.
2012 will go down as rather a normal year, perhaps even a decent one.
There were several positives, most noticeably the performance of Grade 9 science students – 85.8 per cent of them reached an acceptable standard, 3.5 per cent above the provincial average. They achieved the second best results in seven years.
Local students are also holding their own with the province in six other areas: Grade 3 English Language Arts (ELA) and Math, Grade 6 ELA and Science, and Grade 9 ELA and Math. Almost inevitably, however, there are causes for concern: there has been a drop in performance in Social Studies at Grades 6 and 9 and a cautionary note has been sounded over Grade 6 Math.
As for the Diploma results, the picture is bright. The final diploma course marks are consistent with previous years: 94.6 per cent of students are successful in courses that have a diploma exam.
Amid the blizzard of statistics, however, one point should be borne in mind. However interesting they may be, a single year’s results are not terribly helpful to educators. Of far greater significance are trends. How, for instance, have local students been faring over the last seven or eight years?
That is the time frame for analysis. That is the best indicator of whether the direction in education is correct. Educators poring over 2011-2012 results should take great heart that PHRD students who wrote the PAT exams have demonstrated slight, but perceptible, overall improvement over the past seven years.
At Grade 3 and 9, results are consistent with, occasionally slightly above, the province. At Grade 6, results are mixed with consistencies at English Language Arts and Science.
So taking the long perspective there are plenty of reasons to remain optimistic about the current state of education.
If one were to grade it today, B plus would probably be about right. Good, but room for improvement.
There is nothing quite like a band to set the tone for a school. To walk past a band room and hear the combined sound of clarinets, trombones, trumpets, tubas, flutes, baritones, euphoniums and xylophones can be an exhilarating experience.
That is why we should all bang the drum for the work being carried out by Barrhead Composite High School’s new band director Kerri-Lee Kostiw.
Kostiw has been hired to revive the oomph and swagger of the school’s band programs. Judging by the sounds coming out of the band room last week, she is already making a big difference.
Students were having a blast.
