National and International Assessments

British Columbia students participate in a number of national and international assessments to help determine how our education system performs in relation to education systems nationally and from around the world. Click on the assessments below for more information on each assessment.

For British Columbia's results on National and International Assessments, as well as links to additional information and publications on National and International Assessments, please see Reports and Publications.

  • Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP)

    • PCAP was developed by the provincial and territorial ministers of education, through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) to replace its School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP). It assesses the reading, mathematics, and science knowledge and skills of 13-year-old students from across Canada. Questionnaires are administered with PCAP to students, teachers, and principals in order to better contextualize performance results.

    PCAP takes place on a three-year cycle, with the first main assessment administered in 2007. The major domain of the 2007 assessment was reading, while mathematics and science were minor domains.

    The performance results of PCAP 2007 were released on April 28, 2008. Results of the questionnaires will be released later in 2008.

    The next PCAP assessment will take place in 2010; the major domain will be mathematics.

    Further information on PCAP can be found at the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada.

  • Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

    • PIRLS is an international assessment that measures trends in the reading literacy achievement of Grade 4 students. It is organized by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Questionnaires are administered with PIRLS to students, parents, teachers, and principals in order to better understand factors that may be associated with reading performance.

    PIRLS takes place on a five-year cycle, with the most recent assessment conducted in 2006. Students from 35 countries participated in PIRLS 2006.

    The results of PIRLS 2006 were released on November 27, 2007.

    The next PIRLS assessment will take place in 2011.

    Further information on PIRLS can be found at the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

  • Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) / Youth in Transition Survey (YITS)

    • PISA is an international assessment that measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science. YITS collects information from youth about their schooling and their workforce experiences. Together, PISA and YITS aim to measure how well young adults are prepared to meet the needs of today’s knowledge societies. PISA and YITS are conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

    PISA takes place on a three-year cycle, with the most recent assessment conducted in 2006. In 2006, the major domain was science, while mathematics and reading were minor domains. Students from 57 countries participated in PISA 2006.

    The results of PISA 2006 were released on December 4, 2007.

    The next PISA assessment will take place in 2009; the major domain will be reading.

    Further information on PISA can be found at the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, Statistics Canada - PISA and OECD - PISA. Further information on YITS can be found at Statistics Canada – YITS.

  • Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

    • TIMSS is an international assessment that measures trends in the achievement of Grade 4 and Grade 8 students in mathematics and science. It is organized by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Questionnaires are administered with TIMSS to students, teachers, and principals in order to better understand factors that may be associated with mathematics and science performance.

    TIMSS takes place on a four-year cycle, with the most recent assessment conducted in 2007. Students from more than 60 countries participated in TIMSS 2007.

    The results of TIMSS 2007 will be released in late 2008.

    The next TIMSS assessment will take place in 2011.

    Further information on TIMSS can be found at the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).