PISA 2000
The availability of a third set of PISA assessment results in 2006 will allow for a reasonably reliable estimate of trends in performance over time. Nevertheless, it is still possible to compare PISA 2000 and 2003 results to assess whether performance among 15-year-olds has changed since 200010. However differences should be interpreted with caution for several reasons. While the measurement approach used in PISA is consistent across cycles, small refinements were made. Consequently, small changes in results should be interpreted with care.
Given the differences between the PISA 2000 and 2003 assessment in mathematics in the content areas covered in each assessment, it is not appropriate to compare the overall mathematics scores of 2000 and 2003. However, it is possible to compare change in the two sub-domains – space and shape, and change and relationships – that were included in both assessments.
For Canada, as for the majority of the 25 OECD countries for which it is possible to make the comparison, there was no significant change in the performance on the space and shape sub-domain11.
In contrast, for Canada as well as across OECD countries on average, performance on the change and relationships sub-domain improved12 and represented the largest overall change observed across all areas of the PISA assessment including reading and science. For the OECD countries with comparable data, the average score increased from 488 points in 2000 to 499 points in 2003.
For Canada the average score increased from 520 points to 537 points.
Across the provinces, there was also no significant change in the performance in the space and shape sub-domain (Table 1.6). Performance in the change and relationships sub-domain improved in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia while performance was not significantly different in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
Table 1.6
Comparison of average performance in mathematics PISA 2003 and PISA 2000
PISA 2000 PISA 2003
Estimated 95% Estimated 95%
average score confidence interval average score confidence interval Mathematics – space and shape
Newfoundland and Labrador 489 482-496 498 485-511
Prince Edward Island 500 492-508 480 467-493
Nova Scotia 498 491-505 498 485-510
New Brunswick 497 490-504 498 485-510
Quebec 536 531-541 528 514-543
Ontario 504 498-510 512 499-526
Manitoba 517 507-527 513 499-526
Saskatchewan 507 500-514 500 486-514
Alberta 523 516-530 534 520-549
British Columbia 519 513-525 523 510-535
Canada 515 512-518 518 505-530
Mathematics – change and relationships
Newfoundland and Labrador 497 491-503 521 510-531
Prince Edward Island 506 499-513 502 492-512
Nova Scotia 505 500-510 517 507-528
New Brunswick 497 492-502 513 503-524
Quebec 529 524-534 538 524-551
Ontario 513 508-518 536 524-548
Manitoba 523 515-531 532 521-544
Saskatchewan 517 511-523 520 508-532
Alberta 533 527-539 554 542-567
British Columbia 525 519-531 543 532-554
Canada 520 517-523 537 526-547
Note: The 2003 confidence interval includes a linking error associated with the uncertainty that results from making comparisons with PISA 2000 (see endnote 10). Statistically significant differences are in bold.
Summary
In an increasingly technical world, mathematics is key to many areas of activity both inside and outside of school.
Canada’s performance in PISA 2003 suggests that, on the whole, Canadian 15-year-olds will have the skills and knowledge to participate in today’s knowledge-based economy and will have a strong foundation upon which to continue with learning throughout life. However, while Canada’s performance in PISA overall was good, the existence of disparities among provinces, and disparities among some students within some provinces warrants further analysis.
While the comparative approach taken in this chapter does not lend itself to developing explanations for these disparities, the PISA dataset along with other data available will allow an in-depth exploration of how resources, schools and classroom conditions, as well as individual and family circumstances, affect variation in achievement.
Factors that influence mathematics performance are complex and varied and these detailed relationships should be the focus of future research using the PISA data. However, two themes related to mathematics performance will be explored in Chapter 3 and 4 of this report.
Notes
6. The OECD average for the combined mathematics score was established with the data weighted so that each OECD country contributed equally. As the anchoring of the scale was done for the combination of the four sub-domain scales, the average mean and standard deviation for the sub-domain scales differ from 500 and 100 score points.
7. OECD (2004), Learning for Tomorrow’s World – First results from PISA 2003, Paris.
8. It should be noted, however, that only two mathematics content areas were included in the 2000 assessment. The fact that gender differences were not observable does not mean that they do not exist in other countries but rather that the PISA 2000 design may not have been sensitive enough to detect them reliably.
9. OECD (2004), Learning for Tomorrow’s World – First results from PISA 2003, Paris.
10. Please refer to Annex A8 of the OECD (2004) Learning for Tomorrow’s World – First results from PISA 2003 for an explanation of the methods used to establish the link between the PISA 2000 and 2003 assessment.
11. OECD (2004), Learning for Tomorrow’s World – First results from PISA 2003, Paris.
12. OECD (2004), Learning for Tomorrow’s World – First results from PISA 2003, Paris.
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This chapter presents the overall results of the PISA 2003 assessments in the minor domains of reading, science and problem solving. Assessment in these minor domains was not as detailed as the mathematics assessment, which was the major focus of PISA 2003. Consequently, this chapter focuses on providing an update on overall performance in these three domains. First, the average performance of Canadian 15-year-old students is compared to the performance of 15-year-old students from countries that participated in PISA 2003. Second, students’ performance in the ten Canadian provinces are presented and discussed. Third, this is followed by a comparison between the performance of boys and girls in Canada and the provinces. Fourth, the performance of students enrolled in English-language and French-language school systems are compared for the five provinces in which the two groups were separately sampled. Lastly, the results of PISA 2003 are compared with those of PISA 2000 for reading and science. A similar comparison is not possible for problem solving since this area was assessed for the first time in 2003.