Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I believe that most of the Members of this Assembly are aware that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is taking part in the school achievement indicators program, a national assessment program coordinated by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. Over the next few years, 13 year old and 16 year old students across the country will be assessed in the areas of mathematics, reading, writing and science. These subject areas are key to a student's success in a future that will be marked by complex information and technology.
Madam Speaker, one of the greatest benefits of participating in this program is that it improves the department's ability to monitor the success of school programs and to plan for improvements. Assessments will be done in each of the key subject areas in a regular cycle, allowing us to measure the improvements of students and the school system over time.
In December, we received the results of the first mathematics assessment. A group comprised of 13 year old and 16 year old students were tested on their understanding of mathematical content and on their problem-solving skills. The percentage of NWT students achieving at the highest levels was similar to the national results, while a smaller proportion achieved at the middle levels. However, more NWT students achieved at or below the lowest level than their counterparts across Canada.
Madam Speaker, needless to say, I do not find these results acceptable, nor does the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. The department has already developed an initiative to improve the performance of NWT students with the goal of having students achieve at or above the Canadian average by 1997, when the next national mathematics assessment is conducted. This initiative, called "Towards Excellence," focuses on improving students' numeracy and literacy skills and will become a key component of the department's educational quality indicators project.
The first part of the project will focus on improving mathematics skills in kindergarten to grade six, in order to lay a strong numeracy foundation for students. A similar plan of action for improving literacy will be developed along with the administration of the reading and writing assessment, which will be held in April of this year.
Some of the activities under this initiative will be new, while others will involve putting a renewed emphasis on activities and procedures that are already in place. For instance, department staff will review the results of the current mathematics assessment, as well as past assessments, information on student health and other pertinent documents. They will use this information to develop a profile of NWT students to identify areas for improvement. In addition, a new survey for teachers and students regarding the NWT math curriculum will be developed and administered.
Support for standards in mathematics will be strengthened by activities such as facilitating the use of the student evaluation handbook developed by the department and keeping current with developments across Canada and the world.
Teachers play a critical role in providing quality instruction in mathematics. To ensure that new teachers are well prepared to teach math, the department will work with Arctic College to provide support in the area of curriculum, effective teaching strategies and use of resources. Teachers already working in the school system will be offered opportunities for increased training in teaching mathematics and will be kept up to date on the use of technology and other resources in teaching math. The department intends to make use of distance education technologies already in place, such as Television Northern Canada and the north of 60 electronic bulletin board system to accomplish much of this work. In addition, a symposium for mathematics leaders from each board is scheduled for the fall of 1995.
Teachers who contribute significantly to the improvement of math instruction will be recognized and their methods shared with other teachers. With the participation of teachers, the department will assist schools and boards in the development of short and long-term goals and strategies to improve numeracy and literacy skills of students. With the help of our partners in education, the department also plans to establish in-school numeracy and literacy teacher councils for kindergarten to grade three and grades four to six.
Madam Speaker, in light of the results from the school achievement indicators program, I am asking my department and the divisional boards of education to place a renewed emphasis on the amount of classroom time spent on mathematics and language arts. Departmental guidelines specify that 18 per cent of the school day should be spent on math, while 21 per cent is spent on the language of instruction and nine per cent on another language. School programs and outcomes will be closely monitored to ensure these guidelines are followed.
Madam Speaker, NWT students must be prepared for the challenges of post-secondary education and training and for the work place of the future. It is only through a renewed emphasis on key subject areas such as mathematics, reading, writing and science that students will be prepared for the future. I am confident that my department's numeracy and literacy initiative will play an important role in improving students' skills in these important areas. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
---Applause