P.E.I. assessing pandemic impact on education

The P.E.I. Department of Education is testing students to see how the pandemic may have affected their academic performance over the last year.

Students were out of school buildings for all of the spring of 2020, and dealt with public health restrictions in the classroom in the 2020/21 academic year. The curriculum was revised for 2020/21 school year in an effort to help students keep pace.

Tamara Hubley-Little, director of English education programs and services, said early results of testing show the students have done well.

"Preliminary results for literacy at Grade 3 which would be key stage one, and is one of our most important key stages would indicate that our students' achievement in reading comprehension and writing is statistically comparable to our 2019 provincial assessment data," said Hubley-Little.

The assessments are looking at reading, writing and math skills for Grades 3, 6 and 9 students.

The data is preliminary, said Hubley-Little, and analysis of the other assessment categories should be complete by the end of the summer.

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