Summary Public School Indicators for the Provinces and Territories, 1999/2000 to 2005/2006

By Patric Blouin

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Executive summary

Enrolments

Enrolment in Canadian public elementary and secondary schools has dropped slightly since 1999/2000. Just over 5.2 million children were enrolled in public schools in the academic year 2005/2006, a decrease of 3% from 1999/2000.

Alberta was the only province that bucked this overall trend of declining enrolments, recording an increase between 1999/2000 and 2005/2006. There were a total of 552,000 enrolments in Alberta in 2005/2006, up 1% from 1999/2000.

All other provinces and territories have reported a drop in elementary/secondary school enrolment. The largest decline in student enrolment occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador where the number of students has fallen 18.4% since 1999/2000. This is consistent with population estimates data which show that the school-age population in Newfoundland and Labrador declined 17.7% over this time period. This decrease is due in large part to continued migration to other parts of Canada.

The number of students declined in all other provinces and territories, ranging from a drop of 10.1% in Nova Scotia to 0.6% in Ontario . The decline in enrolments across the country can be attributed to an aging population, as the children of the baby boomers are now starting their post-secondary education, contributing to the increased post-secondary enrolment which has been observed in recent years.

There were slightly more males than females enrolled in Canadian public schools in 2005/2006, with 51.5% of enrolments consisting of males. This ratio was generally constant over the 1999/2000 to 2005/2006 time period, across all provinces and territories in Canada , and is also consistent with population estimates of the school-age population.

Graduates

Nearly 314,000 people graduated from public secondary schools in the academic year 2005/2006. The number of graduates is up 3% from 1999/2000. However, variations in the number of graduates were observed over this period in several provinces and territories.

The increase in the number of graduates due to the elimination of Grade 13 (OAC) in 2002/2003 in Ontario appears to have dropped back down to normal levels in 2005/2006. Compared to 2000/2001, the number of graduates shot up 7.9% in Ontario in 2001/2002, one year before the double cohort occurred. This early increase could be a result of students that were on the verge of graduating deciding to take extra credits to graduate early, in order to start their post-secondary education before the anticipated rush brought on by the elimination of Grade 13 the following year. In 2002/2003, the year the double cohort occurred, the number of graduates spiked 23.9% compared to 2000/2001. In 2004/2005, two years after the occurrence of the double cohort, the number of graduates was still above the norm, with the number of graduates up 8.0% over 2000/2001. This may be due to some students deciding to stay longer in school to avoid the rush and to increase their marks to better compete when entering at the post secondary level. In 2005/2006, the number of graduates decreased back down to 2.2% over 2000/2001 levels, two years before the double cohort occurred.

A total of 32,400 people graduated in Alberta in 2005/2006, up 14.2% from 1999/2000. Notable increases in the number of graduates also occurred in the Northwest Territories (43.7%), Nunavut (36.6%) and the Yukon (24.4%).

In contrast, the largest declines in the number of graduates over the 1999/2000 to 2005/2006 period occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador (19.4%) and New Brunswick (6.9%). The decline in Newfoundland and Labrador was due in large part to a drop in school enrolment, the result of out-migration to other provinces or territories. A portion of this decline is likely due to the introduction of provincial examinations in 2000/2001.

Graduation rates

In 2005/2006, nearly three-quarters of youth graduated with a high school diploma, unchanged from 1999/2000.

Graduation rates¹ have remained relatively stable during the six-year period in all provinces and territories, exclusive of Ontario , Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

The highest graduation rates were in the Atlantic provinces and Saskatchewan . The lowest were in Alberta and the three territories.

Among the provinces, the lowest graduation rate occurred in Alberta where slightly over two-thirds of youth graduated from high school in 2005/2006.

Between 1999/2000 and 2005/2006, the largest increase in graduation rates occurred in the Northwest Territories , Yukon , Alberta and Quebec . In that period, the graduation rate in the Northwest Territories jumped from 46% to 62%. The only places where a decline took place were in Ontario , Prince Edward Island , New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The graduation rate for Canada was higher for women in 2005/2006. Some 77% of young women received a high school diploma, compared with just 70% for their male counterparts. The proportion of women and men receiving a high school diploma has not changed since 1999/2000. In 2005/2006, graduation rates among young women were higher than average in the Northwest Territories , Nunavut and Quebec.

Educators

There were slightly over 329,000 educators² in Canadian public schools in 2005/2006, an increase of 2.5% from seven years earlier.

Full-time-equivalent educator data is available for all jurisdictions and all years, except for Alberta data prior to 2004/2005. Full-time-equivalent educator data in Alberta represent generally about 11% of all Full-time-equivalent educators in Canada . Compared with 1999/2000, a total of eight jurisdictions had an increase in educators since 1999/2000 versus five that had a decrease. This figure fluctuated widely during this 7 year period.

Between 1999/2000 and 2005/2006, the number of educators based on fulltime equivalents varied by less than 6% in all jurisdictions, except three – The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador. The number of educators increased by 33.1% in Nunavut (since 1999/2000), by 15.4% in Northwest Territories and fell by 13.9% in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the only jurisdiction where the number of educators has not increased in any year since 1999/2000. In New Brunswick , the number of educators has been increasing since 2001/2002. The numbers of educators in Manitoba have been increasing since 2002/2003.

Between 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, the number of educators, based on fulltime equivalents, varied by 1% or less in six jurisdictions. A slightly more significant variation was observed in seven jurisdictions; Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Ontario and Nunavut.

The number of educators decreased by 2.6% in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2% in Prince Edward Island, increased by 1.7% in British Columbia, 1.8% in Alberta, 2.1% in the Yukon, 2.6% in Ontario and 14.5% in Nunavut.

The educator occupational group, based on headcounts, was female-dominated in Canadian public schools in 2005/2006, with 71% of educators being women. The proportion of women in this occupational group has increased steadily over the 1999/2000 to 2005/2006 period. In 1999/2000, the proportion of educators was 67% female. This upward trend in the proportion of female educators was also observed across all provinces.

Student-educator ratio

The Student-Educator ratio data for Alberta were not available for this release for the years prior to 2004/2005. Between 1999/2000 and 2005/2006, the number of educators increased more than enrolments – or decreased less – in every jurisdiction.

The national student-educator ratio has declined each year over the last seven, decreasing 6.0% since 1999/2000.

The student-educator ratio declined in all jurisdictions. A decline in the student-educator ratio means fewer students per educator.

The student-educator ratio must not be confused with class size. The former is much smaller because it accounts for the personnel outside the class (principals, counsellors or specialists) and teachers' time outside the classroom (for preparation and marking).

At the national level, in 2005/2006, there were 14.8 students for each educator.

This ratio was the highest in British Columbia (17 students) and New Brunswick (15.5 students).

The ratio was the lowest in the Yukon (11 students) and Newfoundland and Labrador (13.4).

Spending

Total spending increased at a faster rate than inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

The total expenditures of public elementary and secondary schools in Canada rose by 27.6% in the past seven years, from $37.2 billion in 1999/2000 to $47.4 billion in 2005/2006. In comparison, inflation went up 15.2% during the same time frame.

Nationwide in 2005/2006, operational expenses represented 90.3% of total expenditures, compared to 7.2% for annual capital expenditures. The other expenditures are mainly from interest on debt services.

Operational expenses

In 1999/2000, operational expenses in the nation were $33.2 billion. Six years later, they reached $42.8 billion, a 29% increase, compared to an inflation rate of 15.2% for the same period. It should be noted that approximately half of operational expenses are directly linked to educators' salary expenses.

From 1999/2000 to 2005/2006, the operational expenses of all jurisdictions except for Newfoundland and Labrador , Nova Scotia , New Brunswick and Nunavut grew in each year.

Alberta had the highest increase in operational expenses between 1999/2000 and 2005/2006 at nearly 52%, compared to Newfoundland and Labrador , whose increase was a little over 15%.

Annual capital expenditures

Nationwide in 1999/2000, annual capital expenditures amounted to $2.8 billion, compared to $3.4 billion in 2005/2006, an increase of nearly 23%. In 2005/2006, annual capital expenditures reached a high. It should be noted that annual capital expenditures can vary upward or downward, depending on the types of investments made, as demonstrated by Nova Scotia (380%) in 2000/2001 and Saskatchewan (380%) in 2002/2003.

However, annual capital expenditures represented between 7% and 8% of total expenditures nationally, over the seven fiscal years examined by the study.

Total expenditures per student

Nationally in 1999/2000, total expenditures per student in public elementary and secondary schools amounted to $7,357, in current dollars. Six years later, they reached $9,704, representing an increase of 31.9%. In comparison, inflation went up 15.2% during the same time frame.

In 2005/2006, spending per student was about $18,500 in the Yukon and more than $13,500 in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (in current dollars). In the provinces, spending per student amounted to a maximum of more than $10,000 in Alberta and Manitoba , and a minimum of about $7,650 in Prince Edward Island .

From 1999/2000 to 2005/2006, in the majority of the provinces and territories, the total expenditures per student (in current dollars) rose more than twice as quickly as inflation. Quebec , Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia had the smallest differences between the total expenditures per student and inflation, at only 9%, 11% and 11%, respectively.

Average remuneration of educators

Average remuneration of educators data for Alberta were not available for this release for the years prior to 2004/2005. Between 1999/2000 and 2005/2006, average remuneration of educators (in current dollars) rose in all provinces and territories in Canada, except in Newfoundland and Labrador (-4.4%), Prince Edward Island (-5.9%), Ontario (-1.1%) and British Columbia (-2.1%) in 1999/2000, New Brunswick (-0.8%) and in the Yukon (-1.7%) in 2000/2001, the Yukon (-1.4%) and Nunavut (-8.7%) in 2004/2005, Nova Scotia (-5.1%) and in Nunavut (-9.8%) in 2005/2006.

In 2005/2006, Alberta had the smallest gap between the average remuneration per full-time educators and full-year, full-time workers. The average remuneration for Alberta educators was $59,800, compared to $54,700 for full-year, full-time workers, a difference of only $5,100. Manitoba was the jurisdiction with the largest gap between the average remuneration per full-time educator ($65,800) and fullyear, full-time workers ($42,500). In all the other provinces, the average remuneration of educators exceeded the income of full-year, full-time workers by more than $11,400.

In 2005/2006, in Ontario , educators earned around $70,500 on average, (in current dollars) and they were responsible for a little over 15 students. In contrast, in Quebec , educators earned around $55,000 and were responsible for under 14 students.

In 2005/2006, educators in the three Territories earned the highest average remuneration, with Nunavut topping out at slightly over $96,000. Educators in Nunavut were responsible for slightly less that 14 students.

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Notes

1. The number of graduates is as of the end of a school year while the population estimates are as of July 1 of the corresponding school year. Late graduates are included in the calculations while graduates from private schools, are not. For this reason, this methodology underestimates the "final" graduation rate and should not be used to infer dropout rate.



2. The term "educator" refers not only to teachers, but to all employees in the public school system who are required to have teaching certification as a condition of their employment. This definition generally includes principals, vice-principals and professional non-teaching staff such as education consultants, guidance counsellors and religious and pastoral counsellors.

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