Nova Scotia Education Indicators Positive

Nova Scotia Education Indicators Positive

Nova Scotia students are more likely to graduate than the national average and are being supported by more educators for each pupil, Statistics Canada has reported.

Statistics Canada examined key education indicators from 1999-2000 to 2005-06.

Nova Scotia's graduation rate was 82.3 per cent in 2005-06, fifth-highest in Canada and more than 10 percentage points higher than the national average of 72.1 per cent.

During the reporting period, the province's graduation rate also grew faster than the national average.

The student-to-educator ratio in Nova Scotia has steadily improved over the previous seven years. Nova Scotia has 15.1 students per educator, comparable to the national average of 14.8. In 1999-2000, the Nova Scotia ratio was 16.5 students per educator (national average was 16).

"We want our students to be successful and graduate," Education Minister Karen Casey said. "We have been innovative through our Learning for Life initiatives and have made other investments in the classroom to make sure that happens. These positive numbers show they're working."

Nova Scotia's education expenditure per student was $8,835, the third-lowest in Canada. In the last report, it was second-lowest.

But when compared with expenditures per student as a percentage of GDP per capita, Nova Scotia ranks fourth-highest in Canada and about 19 per cent higher than the national average. This is a 7.4 per cent improvement from 2004-05.

"Our system is very cost-efficient," Ms. Casey said. "As you can see from our graduation rate, the educator-to-student ratio and the success we have had recently on international standardized tests, Nova Scotia students are getting a quality education at an affordable cost."

The Statistics Canada report only shows the seven-year period ending in 2005-06 and doesn't reflect government efforts since then.

The Department of Education's budget for schools for 2008-09 is $1.26 billion, a $24.1-million increase.