The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on Alberta families, students and staff across the education system. Evidence shows that disruptions brought on by the pandemic had negative impacts on students' learning and social-emotional development. Alberta's grade 6, 9 and 12 students are continuing to close the gap between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic scores in provincial tests such as diploma exams and Provincial Achievement Tests, as demonstrated through the most recent test results.
Results from the 2023-24 grade 6 and 9 Provincial Achievement Tests and Grade 12 diploma exams show:
- Grade 6 students performed significantly better than in the previous year in science and social studies in both the acceptable and excellence standards.
- Student scores for Grade 9 achievement tests showed significant improvement for social and science in the acceptable standard and math and science in the excellence standard.
- Grade 12 student scores on provincial examinations improved in both the acceptable and excellence standards in the majority of subjects.
To continue to support students in closing the learning gap, Alberta's government is taking decisive action to support student learning by prioritizing early years assessments, making record investments to meet the specialized learning needs of students and proposing legislative amendments to prioritize student learning.
"The 2023-24 diploma exams and Provincial Achievement Test results are a strong indicator that learning gaps caused by the pandemic are closing. We recognize there are opportunities for improvement, but I am confident that through our investments, proposed legislation amendments and enhanced assessments, our K-12 students will gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed."
Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education
Proposed amendments to the Education Act would establish a new right to education for Alberta students during future emergencies and highlight the importance of education and maintaining access to in-person learning during emergencies. To help ensure that students get the helping hand they deserve throughout their education, Alberta's government is investing $1.5 billion this school year to meet students' specialized learning needs. This includes $44 million specifically for classroom complexity in the 2024-25 year, so school authorities can add staffing supports to complex classrooms and give students the focused time and attention they need to succeed.
"CASS celebrates the strategic contributions of all partners working within local school authorities for enabling students to experience such impressive gains in their learning. The ongoing financial investments by the ministry to support student learning today and in the future are greatly appreciated."
Dr. Clint Moroziuk, president, College of Alberta School Superintendents
Additionally, over the past two school years, Alberta's government has invested $10 million to support educators and specialists in clearing a pandemic-related backlog of specialized assessments in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech language pathology and psychology. This investment supported the delivery of more than 3,200 student assessments and helped inform instructional programming or access to critical supports and services for students with disabilities, delays or those experiencing other challenges.
"It's encouraging to see the progress the students have made since returning to the classrooms. These findings are a testament to the hard work of the teachers, EAs, students and parents across the province. The results are also a reminder of just how important government funding is to public school education programs to continue to close this gap and have students not only reach pre-pandemic success, but to excel past it."
Dennis MacNeil, president, Public School Board Association of Alberta
Alberta's government also released an enhanced early years assessment framework to ensure Kindergarten to Grade 5 students who require additional support with their literacy and numeracy skills are identified in the critical early years of their education. This enhanced early years assessment framework was developed with input from school authorities, education stakeholders and academic experts, to ensure students are connected to the intervention supports they need to build foundational skills in literacy and numeracy.
Quick Facts:
- $85 million in learning disruption funding has been provided since 2021 to help students develop the foundational skills they need to succeed in later grades.
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