ST. PAUL - Much of the Jan. 11 St. Paul Education board of trustees meeting included discussions about the school division's Annual Education Results Report (AERR). The report reflected much of what administrators have been expecting following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking about the report, superintendent Peter Barron noted that there was a decline in achievement, but the results will help create a path to move forward, and get students back to where they need to be.
Assistant superintendent Keith Gamblin noted that some of the results in the report include students results from Provincial Achievement Tests (PAT) and diploma exams, along with local indicators and survey results.
Some small to moderate gains were noted in education quality and parental involvement, noted Gamblin. But items such as three, four and five-year high school completion rates drew some concern as small decreases were noted in completion rates. The decline is likely due to the pandemic, heard the board and is similar to what is being seen in other areas of the province.
Speaking about the Grade 6 and Grade 9 PAT and Grade 12 diploma results, Gamblin stated that "overall, we saw some slight decreases," which was not entirely surprising.
According to the AERR, for the PAT "acceptable standard" level, which is for Grade 6 and 9 students, the province decreased by five per cent, while the St. Paul Education results shows an eight per cent decrease in the same category. At the "standard of excellence" level, provincial numbers show a 2.6 per cent decrease and St. Paul Education shows a 3.4 per cent decrease.
"Diploma results indicate that for the for the Acceptable Standard, the province moved 8.4 per cent from the previous three year average, whereas our division fell only 4.8 per cent," reads the AERR report.
"The declining performance of our students for 2021/22 can be directly attributed to the negative impact of the pandemic. For instance, student learning was impacted due to reduced hours of instructional time and limitations on instructional practices and learning activities," according to the report.
It has also been noted that there are slightly fewer students reading at grade level now. The goal now will be to "turn those slight decreases into gains," said Gamblin. And, work is already being done to target students in literacy at schools across the division.
A team of staff has been moving from school to school, working with elementary aged students, heard the board. Gamblin noted that administration is already "excited about some of the early results."
"How do we use this data to alter the trajectory?" asked board chair Sylvie Smyl, following Gamblin's presentation of the report. She noted that while there are some successes that can be built on, there are no doubt some red flags. The chair noted the school division strives to be viewed as "excellent" by everyone.
Barron noted the next step would be to share the results of the AERR with schools, which is expected to take place throughout January and into February. Schools will then discuss results with parents.
"We need to ask more questions... we need more answers," said Barron, adding there will continue to be a focus on literacy and high school completion moving forward.
"Our staff need to be involved... everybody impacts education," noted the superintendent, which is why it is important to hear teachers' voices. He added that many things impact education, even how the school calendar is set, for example.
"It's a collective effort," said Barron.
According to the document presented to the board on Jan. 11, "The Annual Education Results Report for St. Paul Education Regional Division for the 2021/2022 school year was prepared under the direction of the Board of Directors in accordance with the responsibilities under the Education Act and the Fiscal Planning and Transparency Act. The Board is committed to using the results in this report, to the best of its abilities, to improve outcomes for students and to ensure that all students in the school authority can acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to be successful and contributing members of society."
