Education and Early Childhood Development
December 16, 2014

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development:

Students Score Above Average in National and International Assessments

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to the students of Newfoundland and Labrador on the impressive results they are achieving across a broad range of subject areas. Their determination to learn, their understanding and use of information and their willingness to engage have earned them above average scores on two recent national and international assessments: the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program and the International Computer and Information Literacy Study.

The Pan-Canadian Assessment Program tests Grade 8 students every three years in science, math and reading, and the results for 2013 demonstrate the highest ranking achieved by Newfoundland and Labrador since the program began in 2007. The primary subject area for assessment changes year to year, and last year it was science. I am proud to note that our students ranked first in Atlantic Canada and fourth in the country in science, with 94 per cent achieving at or above the accepted level of performance. They also showed excellent results in reading, placing first in Atlantic Canada and fifth in Canada. In mathematics, our students placed third in Atlantic Canada, and eighth in the country. While the province’s national ranking in mathematics did not change, only three other provinces finished significantly higher than Newfoundland and Labrador. Mathematics scores have improved by 15 points since the 2010 assessment, indicating that students are achieving at a higher rate with the renewed mathematics curriculum and the Excellence in Mathematics Strategy.

Newfoundland and Labrador students are also excelling in the fields of information and communication technology, as shown through the recently released results of the 2013 International Computer and Information Literacy Study. The study was administered to Grade 8 students in 20 countries, including 1,556 students from 118 schools in this province. I’m thrilled to say our students finished above the international average, placing seventh overall, with the girls outperforming the boys.

Mr. Speaker, the results of these two national and international assessments are concrete proof that our government’s investments in teaching resources, learning resources and technology are positively impacting students and the education system overall. The total education budget has increased by 48 per cent since 2003, and we continue to have the best pupil-teacher ratio of any province in Canada. We continue to focus on helping the students of Newfoundland and Labrador achieve their best and show the world what they can do. Yesterday I had a productive meeting with the President and Executive Director of the Federation of School Councils and we discussed the tremendous achievements of our students and they agreed with me that we need to celebrate our students and express our pride in their accomplishments. So I ask all Honourable Members to join us in applauding our students for their continued impressive achievements.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2014 12 16                                                              1:55 p.m.