Commentary
By Michael Zwaagstra
On this point, the numbers are clear. For example, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), in B.C. from 2012 to 2022 (the latest year of PISA data), mathematics test scores declined by 26 points, science scores declined by 26 points and reading scores declined by 24 points. To put this in perspective, PISA equates 20 points to approximately one grade level. So over 10 years, the math, reading and science scores of B.C. students dropped by more than a full grade level. This is unacceptable.
Unsurprisingly, B.C.’s public-sector unions think there’s an obvious solution to this problem—spend more money on schools. The BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) has long argued that public schools are underfunded. And the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents many school support staff, recently launched a public relations campaign urging the David Eby government to increase spending on schools.
But in fact, spending on B.C. public schools has increased significantly, with no measurable benefit. From 2013/14 to 2022/23 (the latest year of available data), spending on public schools in B.C. increased nominally by 46.9 per cent. (or 9.3 per cent after adjusting for student enrolment and inflation). In other words, while the government has increased spending, student test scores have declined. If more spending was the solution to B.C.’s education woes, the opposite should have happened.
So, what’s driving B.C.’s steady academic decline? For starters, beginning about 10 years ago, the B.C. government implemented new curriculum guides that focused less on academic content and more on the so-called “process” of learning. Consequently, curriculum guides now lack sufficient focus on the knowledge and skills students need to be successful in post-secondary education and in life.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the substandard social studies curriculum guides. Instead of providing students with a solid grounding in Canadian history, teachers offer endless lessons about past discrimination (e.g. residential schools, Chinese head tax, and the internment of various people during the world wars). Clearly, there’s much more to Canadian history than discrimination.
Another likely reason behind B.C.’s steady academic decline is the removal of provincial exams. B.C. students used to write course-specific provincial exams in grades 10, 11 and 12, which were worth a significant portion of their final mark. Now they write low-stakes numeracy and literacy tests that don’t even count towards their final marks. Without provincial exams holding them accountable, students are less likely to take their courses seriously.
The evidence is clear—there’s no correlation between higher education spending and better academic results.
If the B.C. government is serious about reversing the province’s longstanding academic decline, it must do more than simply spend more money and reverse the disastrous curriculum and assessment changes made over the last decade.
B.C. students deserve a better education than what they’re receiving right now.
Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher and senior fellow of the Fraser Institute.
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