Resources - Archived Materials
SCHOOL
ACHIEVEMENT INDICATORS PROGRAM (SAIP)
January - 1997
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The School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP) was initiated
by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) to provide a mechanism
for reporting on levels of achievement attained by 13- and 16-old students
across Canada. Following are both national and Ontario highlights from
the results of the 1996 assessment in science.
HIGHLIGHTS (CANADA):
- There was a significant difference between the achievement
of 13- and 16-year-old students in both the written and practical task
components. More 16-year-olds than 13-year-olds attained level 3 or
above. (Thirteen and 16-year-old students completed the same questions
and tasks.)
- Canadian girls of both age groups performed as well
as boys in the practical component; on the written component, 13-year-old
girls performed as well as boys, but 16-year-old boys performed slightly
higher than girls.
- In both the written and practical task components,
fewer students than expected, of both age groups, achieved at the higher
performance levels when actual results were compared with national expectations.
- The results of most provinces/territories were not
significantly different from each other. In the written component Alberta
and Nova Scotia (French) students consistently demonstrated higher levels
of performance than the results for Canada overall. Nova Scotia (French)
students performed higher than Canada overall in the practical task
component for 13 year-old students. No jurisdiction performed higher
than Canada overall in the practical task component for 16 year-olds.
- Approximately three-quarters of all 13- and 16-year-olds
reported they like science.
- A relatively large proportion of students reported
that doing science experiments and being involved in team work contributed
to their interest in science.
- About 90% of all students reported they were confident
in their science abilities.
- Nearly 90% of all students agreed that hard work and
study were key requirements for success in science.
HIGHLIGHTS (ONTARIO):
- There was a significant difference between the achievement
of 13- and 16-year-old students in both the written and practical task
components. More 16-year-olds achieved at level 3 and above than did
13-year-olds.
- In the written component, Ontario (English) 13- and
16-year-olds performed slightly less well than Canadian students as
a whole.
- In the practical task component, Ontario (English)
13- and 16-year-olds performed as well as Canadian students as a whole.
- The achievement levels attained by the sizeable English-as-a-Second
Language ( ESL) population were lower than the overall performance of
Ontario 13- and 16-year-old, non-ESL students.
- In both the written and practical task components,
Ontario (French) 13- and 16-year-olds performed significantly lower
than Canadian students as a whole.
BACKGROUND:
- SAIP uses five performance levels and reports the percentage
of students attaining knowledge and skills at each level. The five levels
represent a continuum of science literacy acquired by students over
the entire elementary and secondary school experience.
- The SAIP results are reported for Canada as a whole
and for individual provinces/territories. Due to the student sampling
framework, it is not possible to provide reports at the school or school
board levels.
- The SAIP science assessment was developed by a consortium
of provinces: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario (French & English),
and New Brunswick (French).
The SAIP science assessment, administered in the spring of 1996, consisted
of two main parts. One randomly selected sample of students completed
a 2.5-hour written component made up of multiple-choice and short-answer
questions. Another student sample completed a 2.5-hour practical task
component in which students, using science materials, conducted experiments,
recorded their observations, and solved science problems. A student
questionnaire was also administered to all students who participated
in the assessment.
- All students writing this assessment started with a
12-question placement test with questions designed at level three. On
the basis of their scores on those 12 questions, students doing the
written assessment were given one of two booklets. Students who performed
relatively well on the placement test were given the second booklet;
those who performed less well were given the first booklet. Each booklet
contained 66 questions. One booklet contained questions at levels 1,
2, and 3. The other booklet covered levels 3, 4, and 5. A combination
of multiple-choice and short-answer questions were used. The same questions
and tasks on the written and practical task components were completed
by both 13- and 16-year-old students.
- All provinces/territories contributed randomly selected
samples of students to a national sample for both the written and practical
task components of the assessment. Every province/territory over-sampled
in the written component to derive provincial data. Four provinces:
Saskatchewan, Ontario (English & French), New Brunswick (French),
and Nova Scotia (English & French) over-sampled in the practical
task component. All Nova Scotia (French) 13 and 16 year-old students
were involved in the assessment.
- A total of 7,676 students completed the assessments
in Ontario.
- National expectations were established for the SAIP
science assessment, so that actual achievement results could be compared
to expected results. To set these performance expectations, CMEC held
three regional meetings with educators and non-educators in Western,
Central, and Atlantic Canada. The resulting information helped CMEC
interpret how well Canadian students performed on the assessment.
ONTARIO TRENDS - SAIP AND TIMSS (THIRD INTERNATIONAL
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY- 1995)
Both the 1995 TIMSS and the 1996 SAIP assessments included
tests of achievement for 13 year-old students. Each assessment involved
written and practical test components, however, the results of the TIMSS
practical task component will not be available until the spring of 1997.
Following are some brief trends that emerged from both assessments in
the 13 year-old written category only:
- Ontario Francophone and Anglophone students performed
less well than Canada overall.
- Ontario Francophone students performed less well
than their Anglophone counterparts.
- Alberta students performed significantly higher
than the results for Canada overall.
FURTHER STUDY
Following the release of TIMSS in November 1996, Ontario's
Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) initiated a number
of research activities to improve mathematics and science education in
Ontario. It is expected that most of the research will be conducted by
July 1997. Following are several areas currently under study:
Identifying curriculum content and teaching practices of high-scoring jurisdictions to determine what programs/practices should
be considered by Ontario.
Investigating teacher education internationally
and its relationship to student achievement.
Determining the link between curriculum and test results.
Establishing the relationships between student attitudes
and achievement.
Establishing the relationship between parental involvement
and achievement.
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