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Priority on academic achievement Nahendeh MLA wants to see
improved success for students
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, August 8, 2013
DEH CHO
The results of the most recent Alberta Achievement Tests and students' functional grade levels have the Nahendeh MLA calling for action.
While reading the results from the 2012 tests, Kevin Menicoche said he thought they sounded familiar. With assistance from the legislative assembly's research department, Menicoche compared the results over the past six years.
The results show little improvement in the academic achievement of students in the NWT, he said.
"It's been ongoing for some time," said Menicoche.
Between 2006-07 and 2011-12 there was only a two-per-cent increase in the overall proportion of students in grades 1 to 9 performing at or above their grade level in English Language Arts, he said. In the same time period, there was only a one-per-cent increase in mathematics.
Menicoche is urging Jackson Lafferty, minister of Education, Culture and Employment, to take decisive and proactive steps to create positive change as part of his department's education renewal initiative.
"We've got to challenge the department," said Menicoche.
"Let's not have these same results again next year."
As the MLA with the largest number of communities in his constituency and the largest number of small communities, Menicoche said he was particularly concerned about the English Language Arts results.
When the results from the Alberta Achievement Tests (AAT) are adjusted for the NWT exclusion policy, 67 per cent of Grade 3 students in the communities are achieving below the acceptable standard in English Language Arts as a percentage of total enrolment. That percentage increases to 75.3 by Grade 9.
Many constituents and concerned parents can attest to these results, because they say at the higher grade levels, the problems become more obvious, said Menicoche.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment acknowledges there haven't been many changes in the results of the AATs or students' functional grade levels in recent years, said Rita Mueller, assistant deputy minister of education and culture.
"Our minister is very aware of how students are doing," she said.
Based on those results and other factors, Lafferty called for a comprehensive review of the education system in the territory four years ago, she said. The first component was the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative that included consultation in each of the regions of the NWT.
From that, came the Education Partnership Declaration in the summer of 2010 that was shared with all aboriginal governments and the eight education authorities. It called for finding ways to strengthen and improve the system and particularly to bridge the gap between aboriginal communities in the NWT and others, said Mueller.
The current phase, the Education Renewal and Innovation Initiative, involves a detailed and comprehensive look at the system from kindergarten to Grade 12. In the fall, proposed changes to the school system will aim to increase student academic success and create a far more focused approach for small community schools, she said.
These initiatives, along with others, are building upon each other to bridge the gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal students, Mueller said. The goal is to have an education system that is able to support all students in achieving academic success.
Mueller added the NWT is looking into this area at the same time as many other regions across Canada. It's a national discussion, she said.
The department is also examining other ways, apart from the AATs, to test what students are learning and how.
Over the next few years, the format of the tests will be changed and the tests will be held at the beginning of the school year instead of the spring, so teachers can use the results to shape that year's teachings, Mueller said.
The department wants all students to achieve their maximum potential so the NWT has higher graduation rates and students can transition to further education and a variety of career opportunities, she said.
Menicoche said he will be speaking with parents and teachers during his fall constituency tour this month or in September to develop potential community-based solutions for improving academic achievement. More resources for front-line teachers and better Internet connections in schools in communities such as Jean Marie River and Trout Lake may be part of the solution, he said.
Menicoche plans to keep the issue in the forefront by including it in his member's statement during the next sitting of the legislative assembly in October.
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