Chilliwack's overall graduation rates are the highest they've ever been at 92 per cent, despite drops in other measurable success rates.
The topic was brought up at the first meeting of the year for the Chilliwack school board, Sept. 17.
Kirk Savage, assistant superintendent, was reviewing the district's 'framework for enhancing student learning report', and noted while Chilliwack's graduation rates are at an "all-time high," there are continuing concerns around numeracy and literacy skills.
Those are tested in Grades 4, 7 and 10 through the Foundational Skills Assessment, and while the testing shows that students are doing well at the Grade 4 level, they aren't faring as well in Grades 7 and 10.
"How do we reconcile an increased grad when we look at these scores and they seem to be going down?," asked Trustee Heather Maahs.
"Our results at Grade 10 and 7 don't necessarily equal grad credits," Savage responded. "Those assessment are not connected to coursework... It shows they could habe better sklils but it's not affecting their ability to graduate. There's probably a correlation but they're not fully connected."
He added that there are inherent problems with the skills testing, including the need for strong literacy skills to be able to do well in the numeracy tests.
Indigenous student achievement is also on the rise in Chilliwack, and the district is doing better than the provincial average on Indigenous graduation rates, the report shows. Superintendent Rohan Arul-pragasam noted that they have recently brought on an Indigenous graduation coach, and it's possible that the new role is helping more students cross the stage.
There are also more students struggling with mental health issues right now, Savage noted. He said the data they have on mental health will help the district find ways to better support students.
"We need to gather around and support them," he said, particularly students who identify as Indigienous and with diverse abilities....
"Mental health is trending down and that's something we have to work on," Savage said.
The first meeting of the year was held in the newly renovated boardroom, which has been reconfigured with improved technology for presenting meetings in the online format.
The full meeting is available at the Chilliwack School District's Youtube account:
