Financial Reporting Recommendation No. 24
It is again recommended that the Department of
Learning work with school jurisdictions to improve the accuracy of the financial reporting of special needs expenses by school jurisdictions.
Reported school jurisdiction expenses related to the delivery of special needs education continues to be unreliable
In my 1997-98 annual report (page 84), I stated that the Department of Education was not able to use information reported in school jurisdiction financial statements relating to special needs expenses because of concerns that the expenses for special needs students do not reflect all the related costs.
This concern still exists. It is important that the Department work with school jurisdictions to develop guidelines,
including definitions of which types of expenses should be included in this reporting, and how they should be
calculated. The Department should also have procedures in place to monitor the reporting of these expenses to ensure that they are reasonable and that there is consistency in the reporting of incremental costs related to the delivery of special needs education.
Analysis of academic performance
Steps have been taken to improve the evaluation of academic performance for students with special needs
In my 1997-98 annual report (page 85), I stated that the Department should analyze the academic performance of students with special needs at the Provincial level to facilitate the identification and utilization of effective learning strategies. I can report that steps are being taken to improve the evaluation of the academic performance of special needs students. For special needs students who write the Provincial achievement tests, the participation rates and academic performance are being monitored. Stricter guidelines have been developed to encourage school jurisdictions to improve participation rates. For special needs students who are unable to write Provincial
achievement tests, the Department is currently implementing the Alternative Assessment Program, in which performance will be strictly monitored and measured against
benchmarked tasks for children with similar needs. The Department expects to be able to measure the academic performance of all children in Alberta schools within two years.
Local Target Setting Recommendation No. 25
It is recommended that the Department of Learning work with school jurisdictions to ensure that school jurisdictions set local targets for academic achievement on Provincially administered examinations that strive for improved academic results.
In the past, I have recommended that school jurisdictions and schools strive for improvements by setting local targets
In my 1995-96 annual report, I stated that the Department should encourage schools and school boards to strive for achievable improvements by requiring school boards to include local targets for Provincially administered
examinations in their three-year plans. In this way, schools and boards that historically have performed well below Provincial standards and which cannot expect to achieve those standards immediately, will be able to move towards achieving Provincial standards over time. Provincial standards are set by the Department to indicate acceptable and excellent performance in Provincially administered examinations. Every school board is expected to achieve Provincial standards. Local targets would also encourage schools and boards, which consistently perform above Provincial standards, to strive for even better results. In addition, I recommended that similar schools be grouped together for comparison purposes in order to identify best practices, and that other learning outcomes also be considered in evaluations of student performance.
Local targets should focus on gains to be made so that strategies are designed to improve performance
Although the Department has now communicated the requirement and suggested methodology for setting local targets, there is a concern that school jurisdictions may not be fully utilizing local targets to assist in setting strategies and working towards improved learning. A review of the 1999-2000 school jurisdiction plans indicates that, of 53 plans filed with the Department, 19 (36%) of the school boards set local targets that differed from the Provincial standards, and of those 19, only 11 (21%) of the plans show targets by grade and subject area. It is acknowledged that for some school boards, the Provincial standard is an appropriate target; however, for others it is not appropriate. There is a risk that school jurisdictions may be establishing targets without due consideration of what is challenging but achievable over a three to five year period. Local targets, focussed on gains to be made, should reflect past
performance and local issues so that strategies are designed to improve performance.
The Department should monitor local targets and assist jurisdictions and their schools
The Department does not review the school jurisdiction plans to determine if the school jurisdictions’ targets are meaningful. The Department should monitor local targets and provide assistance to school jurisdictions to help the school jurisdictions and their schools to improve their target setting.
Aboriginal Education Last year, I reported that my Office had commenced an examination of the Department’s systems to monitor the quality of education delivered to Aboriginal students. My Office met with a number of Aboriginal representatives and local representatives of the federal government, and
reviewed the Department’s Native Education policy. As a result of our work, a number of observations were discussed with Department management.
In particular, my staff noted that the Provincial Native Education Policy Statement, which was established in 1987, has never been reviewed to determine its effectiveness. We also indicated that it would be beneficial for the Department to work with First Nations, school jurisdictions, and the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to identify opportunities for improvements in the delivery of education to Treaty Indians on reserve. Although the Indian Act (Canada) gives First Nations jurisdiction over education to Treaty Indians on reserve, the funding provided to First Nations by the federal government to deliver this education is conditional on Bands following the Provincial curriculum and on using Provincially certified teachers.
The Department has since committed $1.8 million over three years, commencing in 1999-2000, to initiate a full review of the Native Education Project at the Department and to expand the monitoring of Native Education projects. In addition, the Department has indicated to us that it has commenced discussions with the federal government to seek opportunities to improve the delivery of education to
Aboriginal students.