Slumping math scores prompt change to N.S. curriculum
Posted Jul 27, 2010 05:25:04 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Nova Scotia’s elementary school students are getting worse at math – so the province has decided to change the curriculum in hopes of curbing the downward trend in scores.
Conducted over a four-year period, the assessment tested students who were in Grade 3 in 2006 and then again when those same students reached Grade 6.
Sixty-three per cent of students passed the assessment in Grade 6, down four percentage points from the 67 per cent who passed when they took the test in Grade 3.
“We’ve been troubled about our mathematics results for some time now,” says Department of Education Director of Evaluations Vince Warner. “So a multi-faceted approach includes a revision of the curriculum in the elementary years.”
A release from the department states the new curriculum will be better focused on providing students with the ability to develop a deep and thorough understanding of the subject matter.
“This curriculum is a made-in-Nova Scotia solution that was developed in consultation with 10 university mathematicians and mathematics educators, said Education Minister Marilyn More. “We are confident it will improve the math skills of our youth.”
Warner says training and materials for teachers are also part of the plan, set to be in place by 2011.
The announcement comes just a month after the province released results showing more than half of Grade 12 students failed the provincial exam last year.
Warner was quick to point out that Canadian education standards are very high and Nova Scotia students generally fare quite well when stacked against students internationally.
“We’re high flyers on the international scene,” he says.
Satisfactory performance on the Elementary Mathematical Literacy Assessment is based on a scale, developed by an expert panel of educators and board representatives. The scale ranges from 200 to 800, with an expectation that students achieve at least a 469 or better. This expectation reflects the level of understanding students need as a foundation for future success in mathematics.
