ROCHESTER — The marks are in.
Aspen View Public Schools (AVPS) trustees had a chance to review the report on the division’s students' successes and challenges over the past year and how their learning is progressing compared to the rest of the province with the delivery of the Annual Education Results Report.
“We as trustees always look forward to this report, it’s our division report card,” said Candy Nikipelo, AVPS board chair.
Associate superintendent of curriculum and technology Katherine Mann delivered the results to trustees during their Nov. 21 board meeting in Rochester, and had good news to share with board members, and also identified areas in need of more attention.
“One of the pieces that we are excited about is seeing the increased diploma exam participation rate for four plus exams,” said Mann.
Last year, zero per cent of AVPS students wrote four or more diploma exams, but following the fall 2024 semester, that figure has risen to 38.7 per cent. “That’s trending in the right direction.”
But the divisions three-year high school completion rate and number of Grade 9 students meeting the acceptable standard on Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) have been flagged as areas of concern, according to the provinces overall summary of the division’s results.
Also marked as areas of concern are many categories relating to First Nation, Métis, and Inuit education.
In a table comparing AVPS data from the last five years to Alberta-wide stats, the division is right on track with the province in the areas of student learning engagement, education quality, welcoming and safe learning environments, and access to supports and services categories.
Where AVPS needs improvement compared to the rest of the province is in citizenship — how students interact with each other — diploma standards, and access to services and supports.
Diploma exams
Diploma participation rates across the division are on the rise, with Aspen View nearing or surpassing provincial averages in Social, English, and Math at the 30-2 level, as well as Chemistry 30 and Science 30.
“Not all divisions report this, but I think this is an important metric to take a look at, because I think it speaks to equity,” said Mann.
“When you see more students are participating in diploma exams, that tells you that they are building their confidence and teachers are feeling more confident about students moving into those higher academic streams.”
In addition to more students taking more diploma exams, AVPS five-year stats on the final provincial exam for Grade 12 showed improvements in acceptable achievement, or 50 per cent or higher, for both English and Social Studies 30-1.
The stats show an increase over previous years within the division, but also put AVPS ahead of the acceptable provincial average.
And although Math 30-1 numbers are still below the Alberta-wide stats in both acceptable and excellence — 80 per cent or higher — the numbers do show a positive trend; in 2023, only 39.3 per cent of students scored 50 per cent or above, but this year that figure has jumped to 64 per cent.
“That is, while not where we want it to be just yet, a significant growth.”
Highschool completion and access to supports
AVPS’s three-year high school completion rate has dropped in the last few years and currently sits more than 8 percentage points below the province-wide average. Mann informed trustees the numbers reflect grad data from 2022-23, and the province indicates that completion rate trends have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time as the three-rate declined, the four-year completion rates reflect an increase. Mann said in her follow-ups with schools, one facility reported a large majority of those students who didn’t finish in three years graduated after another year of school.
“We’re just seeing kids are taking longer,” said Mann.
The perception of access to student supports and services and education quality also showed a decline this year. Students showed more optimism about their access to supports and services both inside and outside the classroom than teachers or parents, but were less positive about the quality of education received.
“There’s just a common trend here,” said Mann. “I would say overall, people have broad feelings about things, so they’re expressing that regardless of the question.
Feedback from schools indicates that staffing and in-school administration changes play a part in the responses, as did recent programming around literacy and numeracy implemented for grades 4 to 6 this year.
First Nation, Métis, and Inuit education measures
The divisions strategic priority for the 2024-25 year is the success of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) students.
Five-year trends for FNMI PAT results show students in AVPS schools are faring comparatively well on the exams as students in other divisions throughout the province.
AVPS results either supercede or near provincial averages in acceptable or excellence standards in 11 categories, including Math and Science 9 and Science and Social 6.
“We’ve talked before about how our Indigenous students do compare well to the province, but we recognize that the gap between their success and the overall demographic is something that we’re working to make more equitable,” said Mann.
FNMI diploma results tell a similar story, added Mann. Students exceeded provincial averages in Social Studies 30-1, as well as excellence and acceptable standards for 30 level biology and chemistry courses. Results for both 30-1 and 30-2 options for Math and English show room for improvement.
Diploma participation rates for FNMI students have also improved over the last two years, with rates climbling back up to pre-COVID numbers after two years that saw the exams become optional rather than mandatory.
High-school completion numbers have fluctuated slightly, with a more than five per cent decline in three-year completion rates in 2023, and a 7 per cent reduction in five-year completion. Four-year rates did improve slightly, and are now sitting at nearly 65 per cent.
“For a small school division, lots of good things are happening and we love to see our results,” said Nikipelo. “It’s an ongoing eagerness to always better the school division, and at the end of the day, our number one thing is to have successful students leaving our school system.”
