August 30, 2008

Back to School

The start of school is marked by certain rituals, one of which is the release of a self-serving news release from the Ministry of Education. As usual it boasted about record high spending despite declining enrollment. The release conveniently fails to mention how changes in funding have compared to changes in costs, or how funding compares to other jurisdictions. Education, however, isn't about how much is spent on each student; it is about whether or not everything possible is done to insure that each student achieves his or her potential. The government's Strategic Plan sets out five great goals; the first of which is: "Make B.C. the best educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent."

The Service Plan for the Ministry of Education is required by law to be consistent with the government's Strategic Plan. It's 2007/08 - 2009/10 plan set out 12 performance measurements. Being a leader as measured by the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program in reading, math and science was one of the dozen measurements that was directly linked to the "first great goal" in the Strategic Plan. However, the Ministry's 2008/09 - 2010/11 Service Plan reduced the number of performance measurements to six, eliminating anything that appears to measure whether or not the "great goal" is being achieved. Could that be because the 2007/08 actual results for the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program showed BC placing fourth in all categories, with scores that were statistically significantly below the Canadian means? When it comes to setting pay for the Premier or his Deputy, British Columbians were told that BC should rank at least third nationally. Should fourth place be good enough for BC's students?

The Ministry claims that the third goal in its current Service Plan, improved literacy for all British Columbians, supports the government's "great goal". While improved literacy is important, it does not capture the full scope of the great goal nor is it as comprehensive as the measures that were eliminated. The Campbell government shouldn't be allowed to start the school year cheating on how British Columbians examine whether that government is meeting its stated goals.