Canada Drops in Global Math Education Rankings
Canada has fallen out of the global top 10 in international math education standings, sending education leaders scrambling for decorum.
Based on the latest results from the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Canada is now only at the 13th spot in global mathematics dominance, down three spots from 2009 and six spots from 2006.
"This is on the scale of a national emergency," John Manley, CEO and president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, remarked, as quoted by the Globe and Mail.
"We've got the natural resource sector to pay the rent, but that just keeps us in the house. We need skills, we need knowledge-workers to really improve our prosperity and build our society ... Having the skills becomes a very important element to attracting investment and creating jobs."
Math scores in Canada dropped 14 points in the past nine years.
Moreover, it was found that Canada produced fewer students who were high achievers. Compared with the top Asian countries, Canada yielded only 16 per cent at Level 5 or above, versus the other nations' over 30 per cent at the same high achievement level.
Paul Cappon, former president of Canadian Council on Learning and a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa's graduate school of international and public policy, feared the worst.
Unless a national strategy is formulated and strongly put in place, "Canada will continue its decline in all international rankings in the education field."
"Every federal state worthy of the name has ongoing discussions and joint planning between federal government and the state or provincial governments collectively. Canada has nothing of the kind."
PISA is a gauge to measure how 15 year old students all over the globe are coping in math, reading and science.
Canada lagged behind many Asian economies, including Japan, Singapore and Korea.