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Whistler scores well on government administered education tests.

Don’t fret parents Whistler students can read. This week the government’s Foundation Skills Assessment tests revealed that nearly one third of all Grade 10 students are failing to meet the provincial standards for reading.

Don’t fret parents Whistler students can read.

This week the government’s Foundation Skills Assessment tests revealed that nearly one third of all Grade 10 students are failing to meet the provincial standards for reading.

But that is not the case for Whistler. The results for Whistler Secondary show that only nine per cent of Grade 10 students are not meeting provincial expectations. Seventy-three per cent meet expectations for reading and 18 per cent exceed expectations.

District wide 33 per cent don’t meet expectations, 58 per cent meet them, and nine per cent are above.

Provincially the statistics are 29 per cent, 62 per cent, and 10 per cent respectively.

"The results show the on-going effort within our school in addressing reading writing and numeracy," said Whistler Secondary Principal Ken Davies.

"It is a product of the teachers in the school. And it is not just the teachers in the traditional language arts classes it is the teachers in science as well. They are all giving the kids large opportunities to hone their skills in reading and in comprehension that I think bodes well.

"This sort of result shows that we are on the right track."

Another key component to Whistler Secondary’s strong results is the support parents give to the school and their children said Davies.

He is hopeful that the new School Planning Council will help reinforce the communication between homes and school.

While Davies cautions that these results cannot be taken in isolation he believes they can provide important data to help the school focus its action plans in these areas.

He is a firm believer that if schools turn out students who are independent learners, with strong skills in the basics, future employers or post secondary institutions will have successful employees and graduates.

In writing, Whistler Secondary’s scores were closer to the provincial average, with 19 per cent not meting expectations, 81 per cent meeting expectations and zero per cent above expectations.

In numeracy the high school scored a little above the provincial average with 24 per cent not meeting expectations, 74 per cent meeting them and two per cent scoring above.

The results for Grade 7 were less encouraging for reading.

Twenty-two per cent were below expectations, 68 per cent met expectations and 10 per cent exceeded expectations.

Provincially the statistics are 24 per cent, 64 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

In writing and numeracy Whistler’s Grade 7s met or exceeded the provincial average.

Myrtle Philip’s Grade 4 students shone in the tests.

In writing, 100 per cent of those tested met provincial expectations. The provincial average was 94 per cent.

In numeracy, four per cent were below expectations, 78 per cent met expectations and 18 per cent scored above expectations. Provincially the statistics are 15 per cent, 72 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

Grade 4 students also scored above the provincial average in reading with only seven per cent not meeting the provincial expectations. Eighty-four per cent met provincial expectations and nine per cent exceeded them.

Provincially 20 per cent of Grade 4 failed to meet expectations, 74 per cent met them and six per cent exceeded them.

The FSA tests 150,000 students in Grades 4, 7 and 10 to measure achievement in reading writing and numeracy.

The tests, which take students about 4 1/2 hours to write, are a snapshot of how they are performing and provide data for parents, schools, districts and the province to show trends in education. They were taken last May.

In writing and numeracy B.C. students performed the same or better than in previous years.

For full results for Grade 7 and Grade 4 go the government Web site at www.gov.bc.ca/bced/ and follow the links.