The success rate for boys in Quebec public schools continues to pale in comparison to that of girls, who consistently do better in an environment that requires discipline and listening.
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Graduation rates for students of the Commission scolaire de Laval at half-mast
Five out of ten students failed to obtain a Quebec High School Diploma in 2007
In 2007, only 50% of students eligible to graduate from high schools of the Commission scolaire de Laval (CSDL) finished with a Quebec High School Diploma.
Board chairperson Francine Charbonneau does not hide her disappointment over these results, made public this past week by the Department of Education. The Department also released figures for success rates in 2007 individual subjects.
"Of course it's a figure which disappoints us, but the fact remains that these young people are Quebec's future and that sometimes it can take six or seven years to finish high school (with a diploma)," Mrs. Charbonneau explains, adding that some of these students will finish their secondary studies with higher marks than if they had obtained their diplomas in five years.
The game plan
As for individual subjects such as Physical Science, History and French (at secondary 4), the results were poor, but not as bad as those for secondary 5 mathematics.
In the level 5 math exam, of the eight schools of the CSDL, six reflect success rates below 60%, ranging from 52% at Georges Vanier and Mont-de-la-Salle high schools to 59% at École Leblanc. Le Virage, an alternative school for recovery of drop-outs, registered a success rate of 38% in Secondary 5 Mathematics.
"Le Virage, a school that opens its doors to former drop-outs, cannot be compared with the other schools, such as l'école d'éducation internationale (90% success rate in Mathematics)," says Mrs. Charbonneau.
The Council of Commissioners of the CSDL, already aware of the situation, has intentions of putting into place an approach similar to the one for literacy it stated in the 2007 Strategic Plan.
"We have to target the affected areas and, for example, assign a pivotal teacher in each school to go from class to class to help students who have difficulty in math," the Board Chairperson confides.
As for success rate discrepancies between boys and girls, with the boys usually scoring lower than girls, Mrs. Charbonneau notes that this clientele (boys) always succeeds better in an environment in which they become involved. "It often comes down to the same thing," she says. "The school is a feminized setting where students are asked to remain seated and to listen, which is not always easy for boys to do. We have to readjust to social realities, always with the aim of keeping them (boys) in school," Mrs. Charbonneau explains, citing the example of the football program at École secondaire Curé-Antoine Labelle as an example of what it takes to keep boys in school, who might otherwise drop out.
And what of the Reform?
The low graduation rates and poor results in individual subjects are not linked to School Reform introduced in 2000, Mrs. Charbonneau believes. "Students who started high school in 2002 and who finished in 2007 were little touched by the Reform which was first implemented at the primary level. It will only be in 2010 that we will be able to start looking at the impact of the Reform on the total learning performance of children," Mrs. Charbonneau specified.
The Chairperson did indicate, however, that she has "given up on the idea" to one day see the CSDL rates of success and graduation rise as high as those of private schools, "because the CSDL regroups all Laval students (in French public schools)."
Photo:AngCSDL
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Météo: Laval, 20 août 2008 / 16°C
/ Ciel variable
/ Vents: 9 Km/h / Humidité relative: 68 % 
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