The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies has again criticized the New Brunswick education system for its failure to maintain a uniform set of standards via which to measure the progress of students and, as importantly, individual schools.
This is such an obvious and simple truth it only serves to highlight just how far the province has strayed from common sense. Eliminating provincial high school exams — a common measuring stick — also eliminates the possibility of identifying weaknesses and schools where students are not performing up to standard.
International test scores show that our students are consistently below those in other provinces. Many university admissions officers regard students from some high schools more favourably than those from other high schools. From experience they know which schools send them well-prepared students and which don’t.
While we may have some qualms about some aspects of the AIMS methodology, it is right on this issue: the province must heed this wake-up call.