Education
More money not the answer for schools—just look at Alberta
From the Fraser Institute
If you didn’t already know, higher government spending on schools doesn’t necessarily produce better results. Just look at what’s happening in Alberta.
According to Statistics Canada, from 2012/13 to 2021/22 (the latest year of available data), per-student spending in Alberta increased by 2.1 per cent from $13,146 to $13,421. After adjusting for inflation, this amounted to a 17.2 per cent spending reduction.
This stands in sharp contrast to most other provinces. During the same 10-year period, inflation-adjusted per-student spending increased in Quebec (by 24.6 per cent), British Columbia (5.1 per cent) and Ontario (0.5 per cent). By the raw numbers, Alberta now spends less per student than any other province.
The results?
According to the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests, Alberta students scored second only to Quebec on their math skills and almost half a grade level ahead of their peers in B.C. (even though B.C. spent $1,468 more per student in 2021/22). Even better, Alberta students scored highest in the country on their PISA reading and science assessments. This is exactly the opposite of what we’d expect if less spending hurt student performance.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that money is irrelevant. In countries that spend considerably less on education than Canada, more spending does correlate with better academic results. Excessive teacher turnover harms student learning and students must be in a stable learning environment to excel. If teachers aren’t paid enough to make a decent living, they will not remain in the profession, and students will suffer.
However, things are quite different in Canada where all provinces including Alberta already spend a significant amount on education. Governments should spend more wisely rather than simply pour more money into the education system.
Since Alberta is a top-performing province, it’s worth asking what makes this province different. Simply put, Albertans have more educational choice than any other province. Not only does Alberta have fully-funded public and separate school systems, accredited independent schools receive 70 per cent of per-student grants available to public schools, which makes it easier for independent schools to keep tuition affordable for parents. And it’s the only province to allow charter schools, which are fully-funded public schools that operate independently from government school boards. This makes it easier for charter schools to offer specialized programming based on parental demand and creates an incentive for government school boards to diversify their programming options.
Alberta also has a rigorous standardized testing program. Grades 6 and 9 write provincial achievement tests in English language arts, math, science and social studies. Meanwhile, Grade 12 students write diploma exams in a variety of courses that are worth 30 per cent of their final mark. These tests and exams play an important role in holding schools accountable.
However, before Alberta politicians get too comfortable, it’s important to note that Alberta, despite its relative success compared to other provinces, saw a significant decline in academic achievement over the last 20 years. The latest PISA tests show that Alberta students declined in their math skills by 45 points from 2003 to 2022. To put this in perspective, PISA equates 20 points with approximately one grade level. In other words, Alberta students are (on average) approximately two years behind in their math skills than they were in 2003.
Getting to the root cause of this decline will take considerable effort. But one thing we know for sure—despite any rhetoric to the contrary, simply spending more money will not solve this problem. As another school year begins, policymakers in Alberta and across the country should keep this in mind.
Author:
From the Fraser Institute
According to a recent poll, the vast majority of parents in Canada easily understand letter grades on report cards but are confused by the nouveau “descriptive” grading adopted in British Columbia. This should serve as a warning to any province or school board thinking about adopting this type of convoluted descriptive grading.
In September 2023, despite overwhelming opposition from British Columbians, the B.C. government replaced letter grades—such as A, B, C, D, etc.—on K-9 report cards with a “proficiency scale,” which includes the descriptive terms “emerging,” “developing,” “proficient” and “extending.” If these four terms seem confusing to you, you’re not alone.
According to the recent poll (conducted by Leger and commissioned by the Fraser Institute), 93 per cent of Canadian parents from coast to coast said the letter grade “A” was “clear and easy” to understand while 83 per cent said the letter grade “C” was “clear and easy” to understand. (For the sake of brevity, the poll only asked respondents about these two letter grades.)
By contrast, 58 per cent of Canadian parents said the descriptive grade “extending” was “unclear and difficult” to understand and only 26 per cent could correctly identify what “extending” means on a report card.
It was a similar story for the descriptive grade “emerging,” as 57 per cent of Canadian parents said the term was “unclear and difficult” to understand and only 28 per cent could correctly identify what “emerging” means on a report card.
It’s also worth noting that the poll simplified the definitions of the four “descriptive” grading terms. The B.C. government’s official definitions, which can be found on the government’s website, speak for themselves. For example: “Extending is not synonymous with perfection. A student is Extending when they demonstrate learning, in relation to learning standards, with increasing depth and complexity. Extending is not a bonus or a reward and does not necessarily require that students do a greater volume of work or work at a higher grade level. Extending is not the goal for all students; Proficient is. Therefore, if a student turns in all their work and demonstrates evidence of learning in all learning standards for an area of learning, they are not automatically assigned Extending.”
So, what are the consequences of this confusing gobbledygook? Well, we already have some anecdotes.
Before the B.C. government made the changes provincewide, the Surrey School District participated in a pilot program to gauge the effectiveness of descriptive grading. According to Elenore Sturko, a Conservative MLA in Surrey and mother of three, for three years her daughter’s report cards said she was “emerging” rather than clearly stating she was failing. Sturko was unaware there was a problem until the child’s Third Grade teacher called to tell Sturko that her daughter was reading at a Kindergarten level.
Former B.C. education minister Rachna Singh tried to justify the change saying descriptive grading would help students become “better prepared for the outside world” where you “don’t get feedback in letters.” But parents in B.C. clearly aren’t happy.
Of course, other provinces also use terms in their grading systems (meeting expectations, exceeding expectations, satisfactory, needs improvement, etc.) in addition to letter grades. But based on this polling data, the descriptive grading now used in B.C.—which again, has completely replaced letter grades—makes it much harder for B.C. parents to understand how their children are doing in school. The B.C. government should take a red pen to this confusing new policy before it does any more damage. And parents across the country should keep a watchful eye on their local school boards for any plans to replace the ABCs with vague terminology open to interpretation.
Paige MacPherson
From the Fraser Institute
Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents.
This week, the Smith government in Alberta will likely pass Bill 27, which requires schools to get signed permission from parents or guardians prior to any lessons on human sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation.
It’s a sensible move. The government is proactively ensuring that students are in these classes because their parents want them there. Given the sensitive nature of these topics, for everyone’s sake it makes sense to ensure parental buy-in at the outset.
Unfortunately, many school trustees don’t agree. A recent resolution passed by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) calls on the Smith government to maintain the status quo where parents are assumed to have opted in to these lessons unless they contact the school and opt their children out. Apparently, the ASBA thinks parents can’t be trusted to make the right decisions for their children on this issue.
This ASBA resolution is, in fact, a good example of the reflexive opposition by government school trustees to parental rights. They don’t want parents to take control of their children’s education, especially in sensitive areas. Fortunately, the Alberta government rebuffed ASBA’s demands and this attempt to abolish Bill 27 will likely fall on deaf ears.
However, there’s an even better safeguard available to Alberta parents—school choice. Out of all Canadian provinces, Alberta offers the most school choice. Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents. Simply put, parents who are dissatisfied with the government school system have plenty of options—more than parents in any other province. This means Alberta parents can vote with their feet.
Things are quite different in other parts of the country. For example, Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces do not allow any provincial funding to follow students to independent schools. In other words, parents in these provinces who choose an independent school must pay the full cost themselves—while still paying taxes that fund government schools. And no province other than Alberta allows charter schools.
This is why it’s important to give parents as much school choice as possible. Given the tendency of government school boards to remove choices from parents, it’s important that all parents, including those with limited means, have other options available for their children.
Imagine if the owners of a large grocery store tried to impose their dietary preferences by removing all meat products and telling customers that the only way they could purchase meat is to make a special order. What would happen in that scenario? It depends on what other options are available. If this was the only grocery store in the community, customers would have no choice but to comply. However, if there were other stores, customers could simply shop elsewhere. Choice empowers people and limits the ability of one company to limit the choices of people who live in the community.
Think of government school boards as a monopolistic service provider like a grocery store. They often do everything possible to prevent parents from going anywhere else for their children’s education. Trusting them to do what’s best for parents and children is like assuming that the owners of a grocery store would always put the interests of their customers first and not their own self-interest. Monopolies are bad in the private sector and they’re bad in the education sector, too.
Clearly, it makes sense to require schools to get proactive consent from parents. This ensures maximum buy-in from parents for whatever courses their children take. It’s also important that Alberta remains a bastion of school choice. By making it easier for parents to choose from a variety of education options, Alberta puts power in the hands of parents, exactly where it belongs. Parents in other provinces should want that same power, too.
‘This Is So Disgusting’: Joe Rogan Unloads On Gavin Newsom For ‘Creepy’ Behavior In Front Of Wildfire Wreckage
Trump Talks To China Leader Xi Jinping About Several Topics As President-Elect Readies Himself For White House
Sweeping Deportations to Begin in Chicago Day After Inauguration
Coup in Romania – Fascinating interview with Presidential hopeful Calin Georgescu
-
Alberta1 day agoIs There Any Canadian Province More Proud of their Premier Today…
-
Business2 days agoUK lawmaker threatens to use Online Safety Act to censor social media platforms
-
Brownstone Institute2 days agoThe Deplorable Ethics of a Preemptive Pardon for Fauci
-
Business2 days agoLiberals to increase CBC funding to nearly $2 billion per year
-
Business2 days agoCarney says as PM he would replace the Carbon Tax with something ‘more effective’
-
Alberta2 days agoTrump delays implementation 25% tariffs: Premier Smith response
-
International2 days agoBiden preemptively pardons Fauci, Cheney, Milley on way out
-
Daily Caller17 hours agoPastor Lectures Trump and Vance On Trans People, Illegal Immigrants