WORLD CLASS RESULTS FROM A WORLD CLASS SCHOOL SYSTEM

Ontario Students Among the Best in the World

TORONTO, Dec. 7 /CNW/ - Ontario students continue to be among the top-achieving students in the world, according to the results of the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) released today by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Ontario's 15 year-olds were second only to Shanghai, and statistically the same as six other jurisdictions, in performance in reading.  Furthermore, Ontario's results were among the best of all participating jurisdictions in North and South America. 

"These results prove that Ontario is on the right track," says James Ryan, President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association.  "Our schools and our teachers are great, and that translates into the excellent results that we continue to see from our students."

Noted as one of the few jurisdictions in the world with both high achievement in reading and a relatively small performance gap between students from high and low income households, Ontario continues to close the learning gap and reduce the effects of socio-economic challenges on students' learning.

"All parties should celebrate the fact that Ontario's education system is among the best in the world," adds Ryan.  "The support of the government combined with the hard work and dedication of Ontario teachers is ensuring that our students can compete on the global scale."

PISA is an international, random sample, standardized assessment of reading, mathematical and scientific literacy initiated by the OECD and administered every three years to 15-year-olds.  In 2009, 65 countries participated in the assessment, including 4083 students from Ontario.

OECTA represents the 45,000 professional women and men who teach all grades in publicly funded English Catholic schools in Ontario.

For further information:

Michelle Despault, Director of Communications
416-925-2493 xtn 509
[email protected]
www.oecta.on.ca