Nova Scotia Students Perform Well in Writing, Reading

NOTE: A list of literacy assessment results follows this release.

Elementary and junior high students are performing well in reading and writing, according to provincial literacy assessment results released today, Feb. 27.

Results were especially strong in writing with improvement in every school board and in each of five assessments administered to students in grades 3, 6 and 9.

"Teachers and school boards have really taken up student writing as an area of focus, and we are seeing students benefitting from that high level of attention, and the investments we are making in our Literacy Success Strategy," said Education Minister Judy Streatch.

Since 2005-06, the department has invested more than $14 million to boards to support students in reading and writing from Primary to 12.

Schools provide an hour of language arts instruction for students in grades 7 and 8 every day. Elementary students receive a minimum of 90 minutes of language arts instruction daily, including at least one hour focused on reading skills.

Active Readers, Active Young Readers and Writers in Action initiatives, also benefitted more than 110,000 students and their teachers by helping develop more effective instruction and interventions to meet the individual learning needs of students.

The provincial results, and those included in the individual detailed student reports sent to schools, will help teachers and boards improve classroom instruction and implement strategies to benefit all students and support those requiring additional interventions.

"These assessments give us a valuable provincewide picture of student achievement," said Ms. Streatch. "The more information we have on student achievement, the better we can support student learning."

Individual student reports from assessments have been sent to parents.

Additional information on the English and French assessments are available on the Department of Education's website at http://plans.ednet.ns.ca/ . Detailed school-by-school results will be published in the 2008 Minister's Report to Parents and Guardians this spring.

The following is a list of literacy assessment results:

Early Language Literacy Assessment was administered to Grade 3 English program students in September 2008. Percentage meeting expectations:

• 84 per cent for expository writing, up from 66 per cent in 2007
• 81 per cent for narrative writing, an improvement from 62 per cent
• 81 per cent for listening, up from 80 per cent
• 82 per cent for reading, up from 75 per cent

Elementary Literacy Assessment was administered to Grade 6 English program students, French Immersion and Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) in October 2008.

Percentage meeting expectations:

• 93 per cent in writing, an improvement from 91 per cent in the 2007 assessment
• 86 per cent in reading, unchanged from last year

Appréciation de rendement en littératie à l'élémentaire (ARL) was administered to Grade 6 French CSAP students in September 2008. Percentage meeting expectations:

• 73 per cent in writing, an increase from 63 per cent in 2007
• 82 per cent in reading, compared with 81 per cent in the last assessment

Junior High Literacy Assessment was administered to Grade 9 students in English Program, French Immersion and Conseil scolaire acadien provincial in May 2008. Percentage meeting expectations:

• 92 per cent in writing, an increase from 90 per cent
• 85 per cent in reading, down from 87 per cent

Appréciation de rendement en littératie à l'élémentaire secondaire (ARLS) was administered to Grade 9 French CSAP students in May 2008. Percentage meeting expectations:

• 79 per cent in writing, up from 77 per cent
• 84 per cent in reading, unchanged from 2007