Spotlight Staff
Results of provincial achievement tests and diploma exams for 2015-2016 for High Prairie School Division have raised top marks form the board and administration.
“High Prairie School Division is pleased with the positive results from across the division, board chair Karen Henkel says in a news release from HPSD.
“We remain committed to improving student learning with focus on improving academic success for all students and strengthening our relationships with all stakeholders in the division.”
These standardized tests are one way of enabling Alberta Education, as well as parents, teachers, and school boards, to assess student achievement and to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
“In addition to the high results realized by our students, HPSD was very happy to see the high and improved scores in the categories of safe and caring schools, preparation for lifelong learning, world of work, and citizenship,” Henkel says.
“The improvements are directly attributable to our commitment to excellent emergency response planning and the creation of administrative procedure 209 – welcoming, caring, respectful, and safe learning environments – where every school in the division has embraced character education and the teaching of citizenship across all grades and subjects.”
In the areas of parental involvement and program of studies, HPSD was above the provincial average and rated as excellent.
“That shows a committed, active parent community and quality delivery of curriculum in our classrooms every day,” Henkel says.
“That improvement is largely due to our division’s focus on literacy, numeracy, and quality teaching through our CAP (Curriculum, Assessment and Pyramid of Intervention) program.”
The drop-out rate was below the provincial average and has improved since last year.
Further, the division has improved its six-year transition rate where students enter post-secondary study programs within two years of high school completion. Improvement was also shown in how students are being prepared for the world of work while in school.
The overall ranking in these areas was “good”.
“That improvement, in part, is due to our dual-credit programming (studying post-secondary courses while in high school) and our strong commitment to providing academic counselling to students in the division by our career coaches,” Henkel says.
Trustees noted that there is room for growth in both math and social studies and is committed to working with schools to continue to improve those results beyond those of the provincial average.
As with previous years’ results, the strengths and areas for improvement have fluctuated this year and are only one indication of student abilities.