Dismal student scores show need for fix
84 per cent of Grade 9 students in region behind in math, 77 per cent in reading and writing
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, February 20, 2017
INUVIK
The vast majority of Grade 9 students in the region are behind in reading, writing and math.
Tara Gilmour, data consultant with the Beaufort Delta Education Council, presents some concerning numbers about language arts and math skills in the region. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
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An analysis of student achievement presented at the Beaufort Delta Education Council board meeting last week in Inuvik showed poor performance and a stark trend among students entering high school.
Tara Gilmour, data consultant with the council, presented numbers on a three-year rolling average for student outcomes according to Alberta Achievement Test results.
Among Grade 6 students, 37 per cent read and write at an acceptable level (according to the AAT). The territory as a whole averages 50 per cent.
That number falls to 23 per cent for the region at the Grade 9 level, compared to 44 per cent for the territory as a whole.
In math, 34 per cent of Grade 6 students in the Beaufort Delta perform at an acceptable level, compared to 42 per cent for the territory as a whole. Those numbers drop to 16 per cent and 36 per cent in Grade 9, respectively.
"A quarter of our students are going into Grade 10 prepared for Grade 10," said Gilmour.
"I'll say it again and again: it's important to help our students in Grade 10 make good decisions, but it's more important that we help them get to Grade 10 and have decisions to make, and that means they are prepared when they are going into Grade 10."
It's not fair to expect miracles in high school, she said.
"Things need to be fixed way earlier on."
Robert Charlie, representing the Gwich'in Tribal Council on the board, said the issue can be talked about forever, but action needs to happen.
"We need to do something, we have to do something," he said.
"How many years we've been talking about it, and what have we done?"
He said it's not just about the council or schools or parents, but everyone in a community, and that youth need guidance.
"I have to say enough talk," said Charlie. "Let's put some action behind some of the things we already know and see if we can make some changes, because we're not helping our kids by letting them take the easy way out, the easy programming."
Superintendent Chris Gilmour said though the results are not where the council wants them, the council now has the baseline data and analytics to lead its planning going forward.
"What we take from this information that we have presented to our board and to our schools is this is a call to action," said Gilmour.
"This is a call to action for the school board, for all of our parents that have children in the school, for our partners in education and for the communities that we serve. We know that the results we have are not where we want them to be but we're committed to improving them. We're committed to moving forward with a focused plan that will help improve the standards you're looking at and prepare our children to be productive citizens when they leave high school."
It's important to note, he added, that this is not a Grade 9 or 10 challenge, but a result of everything up to that point. He echoed the sentiment that changes need to start much earlier on.
Lesa Semmler, chair of the Inuvik District Education Authority, said that the students already in the system can't be forgotten about.
"We have to support them," she said.
However, that's where her concern comes in regarding the funding of junior kindergarten, she added. The budget is already stretched and improvements take money, she said.
The GNWT gives the council a sum each year to provide busing to its eight schools, but that money isn't distributed evenly or even put toward busing in some cases.
In Tuktoyaktuk, some families live out at Reindeer Point, for which the council considers busing necessary.
"As a board we have no choice - we have to provide busing to get those students into school," said Gilmour.
What the council did last year is look at the communities where some level of busing absolutely had to be provided - Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk and Sachs Harbour - and did its best to meet the bare minimum of busing there. Then it took the rest of the bus funding and distributed it equally among all the district education authorities.
Gilmour said the council will continue to advocate for more bus funding.
"Part of my concern is everybody wants busing - and I understand that - but the reality is that the government could step in eventually and instead of us deciding how we distribute the limited amount of funds, ECE (the Department of Education, Culture and Employment) could change the formula and they could potentially start to try to determine that as an option."
It will be a discussion moving forward, he said.
Rebecca Blake, chair of the Fort McPherson District Education Authority, was elected as the new chair of the council.
Semmler, who is still chair of the district education authority, stepped down from her role on the council, citing workload and that she wants to be able to put her all into anything she does.
Gilmour thanked Semmler for her service and said she had provided a strong, clear voice for the Beaufort Delta.
