Release of Major OECD Report on the Performance of Canadian and International Students in Reading, Math, and Science

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, November 30, 2010 — The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), in cooperation with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Statistics Canada, will be presenting Canadian results from latest OECD international assessment of student performance in reading, math, and science, on December 7, 2010, in Toronto.

The 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tested close to one half million students, including 23,000 Canadians, in 65 countries and economies. PISA is one of the most comprehensive and rigorous international student evaluation programs in the world. The number of participating jurisdictions has risen steadily over the years, from only 32 in 2000, to more than double that number in 2009.

The Toronto presentation will be hosted by the Honourable Diane McGifford, Chair of CMEC and Manitoba's Minister of Advanced Education and Literacy and Minister responsible for International Education along with senior officials from HRSDC and Statistics Canada, and will focus on comparative results among participating countries and economies and Canadian provinces.

Of particular interest to media:

  • PISA was first conducted in 2000, with an emphasis on reading, and again in 2003 and 2006, with an emphasis on math and science respectively. PISA 2009 marks the beginning of a new cycle, with a return to an emphasis on reading, and therefore offers the possibility of comparing student performance in over time.

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  • PISA 2009 provides extensive data on the distribution of results from highest to lowest performing students. This can provide valuable information about the relative equity of the education system in question.

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  • The assessment examines the performance of boys and girls in Canadian provinces and in countries and economies around the world.

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  • The Canadian report provides information on student performance at the provincial level and examines comparative results among Canadian provinces and other countries and economies. The Canadian report also provides performance results for English- and French-language systems.

 

Preliminary Program for Tuesday, December 7, 2010

OECD report made available online
5 a.m. EST

Volume I, What Students Know and Can Do: Student Performance in Reading, Mathematics and Science
Volume II, Overcoming Social Background: Equity in Learning Opportunities and Outcomes
Volume III, Learning to Learn: Student Engagement, Strategies and Practice
Volume IV, What Makes a School Successful? Resources, Policies and Practices
Volume V, Learning Trends: Changes in student Performance Since 2000
www.pisa.oecd.org

Canadian report made available online
8:30 a.m. EST

Measuring Up: Canadian Results of the OECD PISA Study
www.cmec.ca/pisa2009/en/
www.pisa.gc.ca
www.statcan.gc.ca/dai-quo/index-eng.htm

Press conference and question period
10 a.m. EST

Library – Education Commons
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT)
252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario

Individual interviews in English or French
11 a.m. EST onward

The Honourable Diane McGifford, Chair of CMEC
Dr. Andrew Parkin, Director General of CMEC
Mr. Mark Hopkins, Director General, Learning Policy Directorate, HRSDC
Mr. François Nault, Director, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics Division, Statistics Canada

Media Interview Room
An interview room will be available at OISE/UT. The room will be equipped with microphones and a media feed box. Interviews will also be possible by telephone.

Media Work room
A media work room will be located in Room 11-204 at OISE/UT. It will be available from 8:30 a.m. until 12 noon, and will be equipped with Internet access and power outlets. Hard copies of the Canadian report will also be available in English and French.

Members of the media are asked to contact Colin Bailey (contact information below) for further information or to arrange an interview with CMEC representatives.

 

About CMEC

Founded in 1967, CMEC is the collective voice of Canada's ministers of education. It provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels. For more information, visit us at www.cmec.ca.

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Information

Colin Bailey
Director, Communications
Cell: 416-804-6548
Tel.: 416-962-8100, ext. 259
E-mail: c.bailey