Learning

Addressing inequities in our education system is vital for the future

Overview

The more we learn, the more we can accomplish in life. Healthy communities provide learning opportunities for all ages, while a strong education system enables our residents and our region to realize our potential.

Citizen Grade

C+

Citizen Priorities

  • 25% More affordable post-secondary education
  • 18% Better quality of education

  • Grad rates 46%

    of ESL Grade 12 students graduate compared to 79% of Grade 12 students overall
    2009

  • Special Needs 66%

    of special needs students graduated high school in 2009, the highest rate was 88% in West Vancouver
    2009

  • Higher education 52%

    of our residents have completed higher education compared to 54% of Torontonians, 56% of Montrealers and 57% of Calgarians
    2009

  • Libraries 955,000

    residents have library cards and 28 million items circulate each year
    2008

Digging A little Deeper..

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  • Trends More people have high school education

    As of 2009, 84% of adults in Vancouver have a high school education, a higher rate than the previous year.

    • The rate of the population not completing high school is 16%, which has improved 35% over 20 years.
    • This reflects a national trend. Vancouver lies in the middle of the pack; Montreal and Toronto have a lower percentage of high school graduates and Calgary and Ottawa have more.
      Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey 2009
  • Challenges Some groups struggle to graduate

    Our region’s high school graduation rates have been hovering around 79% for the last five years, but some groups fail to graduate far more often than others.

    • Less than half (46%) of the 1,175 English-as-a-second-language students who started Grade 12 in 2008-09 graduated, and this rate has slipped over the last five years.
    • Graduation rates for aboriginal students in our region are improving, with 63% graduating in 2008-09, a 12% increase from four years ago.
    • Nearly 66% of special needs students graduated. The lowest rate was 46% in Burnaby and the highest rate was 88% in West Vancouver.
      BC Ministry of Education School and District Reports
  • Progress There are many ways to learn

    We are dedicated to lifelong learning, to being informed and involved.

    • We love our libraries. Over half our residents have cards, and in 2007 we had significantly more borrowers than Toronto, Montreal or Calgary.
      British Columbia Public Libraries Statistics, 2008 and Community Foundations of Canada
    • We read the paper, with 78% of residents reading it in print or online each week.
      NADbank Study 2009
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  • Learning - In-depth information - Preview

    Graduation rates

    High school education

    16% of adults in metro Vancouver didn’t finish high school
    2008-09

    Special needs students

    66% of special needs students completed grade 12 in 2009
    2008-09

    Aboriginal students

    63% completed grade 12 in 2009
    2008-09

    Continuing education/lifelong learning

    Literacy rate

    All of our municipalities perform above the Canadian average on an international literacy test
    2003

    Learning scores

    Composite learning index shows our learning ranks low compared to other Canadian cities, and our score is down from 2007
    2010

    Reading the paper

    74% of residents read the printed version of the newspaper at least once a week — we read the paper in print or online more often than Toronto or Montreal residents
    2009

    Post-secondary education

    Aboriginal peoples

    65% of our region’s Aboriginal peoples had some higher education, and 16% entered or completed university
    2009

    Education system

    Average class sizes

    Increased across the region for all grades from 2007-08 to 2009-10
    2009

    System satisfaction

    73% of secondary school parents are satisfied with what their children are learning
    2008-09

    Independent schools

    38,199 students in independent schools
    2009-10

    Cultural diversity

    Immigrants

    63% of recent immigrants had some post-secondary education in metro Vancouver
    2006

    First Nations

    64% of urban Aboriginal residents said they learned almost nothing about First Nations history in Grades 1 to 8
    2009

    International students

    come from

    1. Korea – 6,189 students
    2. China – 5,573
    3. Saudi Arabia – 2,267
    4. Japan – 1,796
    5. United States – 1,167
      2009

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