Grande Prairie, AB – Students of Peace Wapiti Public School Division (PWPSD) continue to demonstrate success on the Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs), administered annually by Alberta Education to students in Grades 6 and 9, and the Grade 12 Diploma Exams.

Provincial Achievement Test results are good news for PWPSD’s Grades 6 and 9 students

Grade 6 students continue to perform near provincial results. The percentage of students achieving the Acceptable Standard saw improvement over the 2016-2017 school year in all four subjects – Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies – while the percentage achieving the Standard of Excellence improved in three of the four subject areas, with Science remaining on par with the previous year’s outcome.  The percentage of Grade 9 students achieving the Acceptable Standard in Science saw an increase over the 2016-17 school year, while Social Studies and Language Arts remained on par. The decline seen in Math was reflected in the provincial outcome. The percentage of Grade 9 students achieving the Standard of Excellence improved year-over-year in Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. The 2.7 per cent drop in the Grade 9 Math Standard of Excellence is not concerning, given that the provincial data declined by more than 4 per cent.

Diploma Exam results show significant improvement

The percentage of students achieving the Acceptable Standard saw significant improvement over 2016-17 results in seven of ten courses. Most significant were the increases seen in Math 30-1 and Math 30-2, with outcomes now hovering near provincial averages. In his analysis of the data, Deputy Superintendent Darren Young remarked that the math results are the highest on record for PWPSD. Also, the percentage of PWPSD students achieving the Acceptable Standard was higher than that of the province in English 30-1 and 30-2, Physics 30 and Science 30. Slight year-over-year drops in Biology 30 and Chemistry 30 percentages – by 2 and 2.3 per cent respectively – are not concerning. Social Studies 30-2 results improved by nearly five per cent, bringing students within close range of provincial outcomes.

Improvements in the percentage of students achieving the Standard of Excellence is encouraging, with English 30-2 and Science 30 results out-ranking provincial outcomes. Math 30-1 showed a significant year-over-year increase. Chemistry 30 and Social Studies 30-2 results are up, while English 30-1, Biology 30, Physics 30, Math 30-2 and Social Studies 30-1 outcomes are at or near 2016-17 results.“Our PAT results remain on par or near provincial averages,” says Superintendent Bob Stewart. “We are particularly pleased with Grade 6 results overall, and the Grade 9 Language Arts and Science outcomes. PWPSD’s Education Officers will work with Principals to identify supports to improve Grade 9 performance in Social Studies and Math. To maintain our improvement in PAT results, we have directed funds to support coaching projects, mentorship programs, reading intervention programs, Indigenous Education programming and our Collaborative Response Model (CRM) – a system-wide framework that promotes an educational team approach to the individual needs of all students. These projects support teachers in developing new strategies to deliver curriculum. We are also pleased with our Diploma Exam results, in both the Acceptable Standard and the Standard of Excellence categories.”

Article provided by the Peace Wapiti Public School Division.