A recent community report has raised concerns for Powell River School Board superintendent Jay Yule.
Vital Signs, a report released publicly by Powell River Community Foundation on Wednesday, October 7, examined data and surveys about the current state of 13 key issues in Powell River, including education.
However, Yule said statistics in the report used to represent learning and education were not presented in the proper context, and one particular statistic probably shouldn’t have been used at all.
In the report, the foundation used School District 47 graduation statistics for a five-year period, which tracks the number of students graduating five years after grade eight, rather than a six-year period.
“What is the purpose of using the five-year grad rate,” said Yule, “when it is not the statistic used by the Ministry of Education?”
The five-year graduation rate included in the report was 53 per cent, while the six-year graduation rate, also included in the report, was 79.3 per cent, with eventual graduation at 93 per cent.
According to Yule, the five-year graduation statistic was abandoned by BC Ministry of Education because the figure did not account for students leaving the province or choosing to school for an extra year, such as those taking dual credit courses.
However, according to Paul Schachter, manager of Powell River’s Vital Signs report, the figure is a useful indicator of student readiness and was used in other communities across Canada.
“The number used is not an indictment of our school system,” said Schachter, “but it says something about student preparedness in Powell River.”
According to Yule, cities such as Nanaimo and many others use the six-year rate. Of the 20 full vital signs reports released in BC since 2011, about half used the six-year graduation rate, and none of the remainder stipulate using a five-year rate, except Powell River.
Because the five-year graduation rate does not track students leaving the province or going on to take further courses, it could mistakenly identify those students not graduating grade 12 in five years as dropouts, said Yule.
“The statistic doesn’t account for students who choose not to graduate because they want to take additional courses,” said Yule. “For example, about 45 of the 89 eligible students stayed on to take advantage of free university-transfer courses at VIU last year.”
Schachter said he welcomes Yule’s concerns as part of the dialogue the Vital Signs report is meant to generate within the community.
“We want to know what kind of challenges and successes the school district is facing,” said Schachter.
Yule said he will be presenting his concerns about the Vital Signs report at the next school board meeting on Tuesday, October 20.
