Comox Valley secondary school graduation rates were the highest last year that they have been in five years, according to the District Achievement Contract.
The district's six-year completion rate, (the proportion of students who graduate within six years from when they enrol in Grade 8), was 77 per cent in 2011/12, up from 70 per cent in 2010/11.
"One of the interesting figures that came out is there was no significant difference between males versus females in our graduation rate, and that is huge," Comox Valley School District assistant superintendent Tom Demeo added at last week's Board of Education meeting.
According to the Achievement Contract, the male six-year completion rate rose from 67.2 per cent in 2010/11 to 76.4 per cent in 2011/12, nearly on par with the overall completion rate.
As well, the aboriginal student six-year completion rate jumped a whopping 17 per cent, from 56 per cent in 2010/11 to 73 per cent in 2011/12. The aboriginal student six-year completion rate sat at 49 per cent five years ago, in 2007/08.
The district's overall six-year completion rate of 77 per cent is still five per cent below the provincial average. But, the gap tightened by six per cent over 2010/11, when the district's completion rate was 11.3 per cent below the provincial average.
Demeo added the district hopes to close the gap between the Comox Valley rate and the provincial average to three per cent this school year.
"We're trying to decrease that (gap) and eventually get to the point where there isn't a difference," Demeo said. "So, that's our target as we move forward."
Comox Valley students scored three per cent higher than the provincial average on the English 12 provincial exam in 2011/12 and 3.5 per cent higher on the Francais Langue 12 exam.
Meanwhile, the Achievement Contract includes five goals:
1. Personalized learning — Each student will have a personalized learning plan developed in collaboration between home and school;
2. Sense of Belonging — To develop a sense of belonging and to enhance the engagement in learning for all students;
3. Literacy — To improve literacy skills, knowledge and confidence K – 12;
4. Numeracy — To improve numeracy knowledge, skills and confidence across all grades K-12;
5. School Completion — To increase the completion rate of all students;
Superintendent Sherry Elwood noted these goals are similar to those of past years.
Achievement Contracts must be submitted to the Ministry of Education. To view the district's 2013 Achievement Contract, and past years' Achievement Contracts, visit www.sd71.bc.ca.
writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com