The numbers are in from the Rocky View Schools (RVS) Annual Education Results Report for the 2012 to 2013 school year and satisfaction with the division is up for student, staff and parents.
“It was a remarkable, busy, exciting year in this jurisdiction,” said Acting Superintendent of Schools Susan Williams as she presented the report to the board of trustees on Dec. 5. “We’ve got a lot to celebrate.”
Students were asked 28 to 31 questions surrounding satisfaction.
Respondents in Grades 10 through 12 were asked three more questions than the younger students. The additional questions were about access to information on post-secondary institutions, planning for future after leaving schools and involvement in decision making at the school.
The answers varied from “I feel welcome at school” to “The school helps me do my very best.”
The majority of results for the 28 to 31 questions either stayed the same as those reported in the last school year or improved.
The highest increase being a six per cent jump for “I use my classes’ online learning resources after school is done to help me learn,” which went from 56 per cent satisfaction to 62 per cent.
Parent satisfaction also indicated improvements with the majority of the 32 questions asked receiving an increase in satisfaction, some as much as a nine percent increase.
Overall parent satisfaction with parental involvement in decisions about their child’s education came in at 89 per cent, 22 per cent greater satisfaction over Alberta Education results of 67 per cent.
Staff satisfaction also follows this trend with 30 of the 55 questions receiving 90 per cent satisfaction or more.
Eighty-two per cent of teachers indicated instruction meets the individuals learning styles of students and 75 per cent of teachers indicated students have a strong sense of ownership for their learning.
“I think the drop out rate is something that has to be noted, it is one of the lowest in the province,” Williams said.
The RVS dropout rate came in at 1.6 per cent, 1.9 per cent lower than the provincial drop out rate of 3.5 per cent.
Another area Williams said she was happy to report was the RVS drop out rate for self-identified First Nations, Metis and Inuit students, which was 4.2 per cent lower than the provincial average.
High school completion rates for RVS are also positive with an increase of 7.8 per cent for a total 82.6 per cent.
Drop out rates refer to the number of students who formally withdraw from schooling or fail to return to school for unknown reasons.
Whereas high school completion rates account for students who withdraw from a school for a variety of identified reasons including moving out of the province or country, transferring to another division or death.
RVS students are doing well in diploma exams, with local students meeting or exceeding provincial standard in seven out of 10 diploma exams at the acceptable level and in eight out of 11 exams at the excellence level.
RVS students met or exceeded provincial acceptable levels in three out of eight Provincial Achievement Test results, and in four out of eight tests in the excellence level.
These results indicate a struggle in the performance at the standard of excellence level and RVS hopes to address this by implementing jurisdictional excellence awards program for school achievement, as outlined in Year 3 of the 2011 to 2014 Three Year Plan.
For more information on the results, visit www.rockyview.ab.ca/publications/2012_13_digital_aerr
