CBE Students Achieve Exceptional Results on Provincial Achievement Tests and Diploma Exams

Sep. 26, 2019


Calgary Board of Education students achieved exceptional results on 2018-19 Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) and Diploma Exams.

“These are outstanding results," said Christopher Usih, chief superintendent of schools. “Our students continue to outperform the province on most measures, and are making improvements in key subject areas, including mathematics. We are particularly pleased to note encouraging signs that the strategies we use every day with students are having a positive impact. I want to thank our teachers, support staff, families and communities for everything they do to ensure the success of every student."

Provincial achievement testing is one of several ways the CBE measures student success. Other measures include report card data, student survey data and the province's Accountability Pillar.

“I am so proud of our students, staff and school communities," said Marilyn Dennis, Chair, Board of Trustees.  "These results indicate that we are on the right track as we continue to see improvements, particularly in areas previously noted by the Board of Trustees. We know that we have more work to do, but we are happy to take this moment to celebrate the incredible work that happens every day across our system."

Student results will also be posted when available on the Provincial Assessment & Reports  page on our website.

Highlights 

Grades 6 and Grade 9 PAT Results*

  • CBE student results in Grade 6 exceeded provincial results in all measures at both the Acceptable Standard and the Standard of Excellence.
  • In Grade 9, our results exceeded provincial results in three of five measures at the Acceptable Standard and in four of five measures at the Standard of Excellence.
  • Notable achievements:
    • Grade 6 Mathematics: At the Acceptable Standard, CBE student results increased by 2.9 percentage points over the 2017-18 results, while the provincial results decreased by 0.3 percentage points.
    • Grade 6 ELA: Results at the Acceptable Standard are our highest in five years.
    • Grade 6 Science: 32.8 per cent of students achieved the Standard of Excellence.
    • Grade 6 Social Studies: Results at both the Acceptable Standard and Standard of Excellence are the highest in five years, with 30.9 per cent of students meeting the Standard of Excellence.
    • Grade 9 Mathematics: At the Acceptable Standard, student results increased by 4.2 percentage points over the 2017-18 results while the provincial results increased by 0.7 percentage points.
    • Grade 9 Science: Highest results at both standards in five years.
    • Grade 9 Social Studies: Highest result in five years at the Acceptable Standard.
    • Grade 9 ELA: Results exceed provincial results for both standards.

Grade 12 Diploma Examinations

  • CBE results were above provincial results in 10 out of 11 Diploma Exam measures at the Acceptable Standard and 11 of 11 measures at the Standard of Excellence.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • A higher number of students achieved the Acceptable Standard in Chemistry 30, Mathematics 30-1, Mathmatics 30-2, Physics 30, Science 30 and Social Studies 30-1 as compared to 2017-18.
    • Mathematics 30-1 – the CBE result is 5.6 percentage points above the provincial results at the Acceptable Standard and 10.4 percentage points above the provincial results at the Standard of Excellence.
    • More than 40 per cent of students writing the Biology 30 and Chemistry 30 exams have achieved the Standard of Excellence for seven years in a row.
    • In Physics 30, over 50 per cent of students have achieved the Standard of Excellence for three years in a row. 

*All students results reflect writer data only.