Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 12/01) - The city's public school students are not making the grade, according to the Alberta Achievement Testing Program results.

Test scores presented by Yellowknife District No. 1 administration at a public meeting last Tuesday for grades 3, 6 and 9 reveal that too many are demonstrating deficient skills in both language arts and math.

In order to reach the "standard of acceptance," 85 per cent of students must receive 50 per cent or better in the two testing categories of math or English. But aside from French immersion students, none of the grade levels at Yellowknife No. 1 reached the Alberta curriculum standard of acceptance in either category.

Grade 9 students in math received the lowest results -- posting a 59 per cent passing rate. That means more than four of 10 students failed.

Some board trustees were left wondering what to make of the results, but others took them in stride.

"This is our first crack at it, so I'm not surprised with the results," said trustee Terry Brookes. "The question is, where do we go from here?"

Trustee Rob Meckling said he is still waiting for opportunity to discuss the results with administration.

The tests were conducted for the first time last June. The program is part of a Yellowknife No. 1 initiative to bring students in line with the Alberta curriculum. Previously, the district used the Canadian Achievement Test to determine knowledge proficiency in Yellowknife students.

Despite the low marks, not everything may be as grim as it appears.

Yellowknife No. 1 did not release the complete testing results, nor any comparative data from other school districts in Alberta, but a look at earlier results in the province show not all schools are meeting standards of acceptance there either -- and that's after several more years of experience with the tests.

While most private schools fared well, some school districts in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer posted relatively modest results, particularly in math.

In 1999, nearly 30 per cent of Grade 9 students in Edmonton School District No. 7 failed the math portion of the test. The numbers are comparable in Calgary School District No. 19.

"It's not an issue that's unique here," said assistant superintendent Bruce Jansen. "It's really an issue as kids enter Grade 9, what kind of programs should we have?"

Jansen explained that the reason why Grade 9 math students typically do not fare as well on the tests is because the curriculum becomes much more stringent once they enter the high school level.

Moreover, since the scores do not count towards their final grades, students may not take the tests as seriously.

"One of the issues we need to look at is how important are these tests for students," said Jansen.

Nonetheless, as educators sit down to mull over results, one question still remains -- are Yellowknife No. 1 students making the grade?

"I think we're trying to simplify the situation, but it's not a simple situation," said Jansen.

Administration is expected to make recommendations on the issue next January.