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Chapter A: The output of educational institutions and the impact of learning

A1 Educational attainment of the adult population

  • Between 1999 and 2009, the proportion of adults aged 25 to 64 with tertiary education (the equivalent of college and university completion) increased from 39% to 50% in Canada. Correlatively, below upper secondary attainment (the equivalent of less than high school completion) decreased steadily, from 20% to 12%. Similar changes were mirrored in the provinces, as well as on average for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

  • In 2009, 92% of Canadian adults aged 25 to 34 had attained at least upper secondary education, compared with 80% for those aged 55 to 64, reflecting change in attainment patterns over time.

  • There were relatively small differences between provinces in the proportion of adults aged 25 to 34 with at least a secondary school diploma; figures ranged from 89% in Manitoba to 94% in British Columbia.

  • In 2009, one-quarter (24%) of 25- to 64-year-olds in Canada had completed tertiary-type B programs, far greater than the average of 10% reported by the OECD for its member countries. In Canada, tertiary-type B includes non-university certificates or diplomas from community colleges, CEGEPs, or schools of nursing, as well as university certificates below the bachelor's level.

  • The international figure for completion of tertiary-type A/advanced research programmes was 21%, which compares with 25% in Canada. In Canada, tertiary-type A refers to bachelor and master's degrees and other university degrees or certificates above a bachelor's degree (but below a doctorate), and advanced research programmes comprises doctorates and post-doctoral programmes.

A2 Upper secondary graduation

  • Canada's upper secondary graduation rate was 79% in 2008. The majority of other OECD member countries also reported graduation rates above 70%, and the OECD average was 82%. The upper secondary graduation rate is the sum of graduation rates by age, and the latter are obtained by dividing graduates of a specific age by the population of the same age.

  • Upper secondary graduation rates for females were higher than those for males in all provinces and territories, as well as in the vast majority of OECD countries for which comparable data were available. In Canada, the rate for females was 83%; the rate for males, 75%.

  • In Canada in 2008, successful completion in public schools was 70%, slightly higher than the average of 68% for the OECD countries that were able to provide the appropriate data. This new indicator measures the "on-time" graduation of the 2005/2006 cohort of Grade 10 students (3e secondaire in Quebec)—an indication of the efficiency of the public school system. Among the provinces and territories, the proportion of students who completed their education within the expected time varied considerably, from 13% in Nunavut to over 75% in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

  • Successful completion is generally lower than upper secondary graduation rates, implying that, for some provinces and territories, the process of obtaining a high school diploma may take longer than expected. There was a 33-percentage-point difference between the two rates in the Northwest Territories in 2008, compared with a difference of less than 1 percentage point in Manitoba.

A3 Tertiary graduation

  • In 2008, the tertiary-type B (mainly college credentials) graduation rate, which includes only first-time graduates, was 28.8% in Canada. The latest comparable average available from the OECD (2009) is 10.4%. This wide gap clearly indicates the strength of the tertiary-type B education sector in Canada, one seen in only a few of its fellow OECD countries. (The tertiary graduation rate is the sum of graduation rates by age, and the latter are obtained by dividing graduates of a specific age by the population of the same age.)

  • Canada's average graduation rate for tertiary-type A (first-time graduates, bachelor's degree) was 36.9% (2008), 2 percentage points lower than the most recent average of 38.6% registered by the OECD. This is not actually low, however, when taking into account the entire tertiary sector in Canada, where many postsecondary students choose to pursue tertiary-type B programmes.

  • In Canada, the estimated first time graduation rate for women in tertiary-type B programs (34.4%) was higher than that for men (23.5%)—a rather sizeable gender gap of 11 percentage points. The rates for tertiary-type A (45.8% for women versus 28.3% for men) reveal an even larger gap of 18 percentage points. The comparable OECD gender gaps were 2.8 percentage points for tertiary-type B and 15.5 percentage points for tertiary-type A.

  • Tertiary-type A graduation rates for women were, without exception, above those for men across the country. A similar pattern for tertiary-type B graduation rates was also observed: the graduation rates for women were also higher than those for men across the provinces in almost all cases.

A4 PISA performance and equity

  • In 2009, Canada and other OECD member countries in general reported that reading achievement increased, on average, with increased levels of socio-economic status. This indicates an average association between reading performance and socio-economic background. In Canada, for every 1-point increase in the index of the students' socio-economic status, there was a 32-point increase in the score for reading performance, compared with a 38-point increase for OECD countries, indicating a more moderate influence of the socio-economic background on student academic performance. Among the Canadian provinces, the influence of the students' socio-economic background on their academic performance did not vary significantly.

  • Almost one-quarter (24.4%) of 15-year-old students in Canada in 2009 had immigrant backgrounds (counting first- and second-generation immigrants), compared with 10.7% across the OECD countries in general. This proportion varied greatly across the provinces, from 5% or less in the Atlantic provinces to 34.7% in British Columbia. On average in Canada, there was no statistically significant difference between the reading performance of Canadian students with an immigrant background, whether they were first- or second-generation immigrants, and the performance of non-immigrant students. This is a rather favourable situation for immigrant students in Canada, compared with that in OECD countries in general.

A5 Labour market outcomes

  • In Canada and other OECD countries, it is evident that employment prospects increase with educational attainment. In 2009, Canada's employment rate for adults aged 25 to 64 who had not completed upper secondary education was 55%. For upper secondary graduates, the employment rate was 72%; for postsecondary non-tertiary graduates, 77%. The figures for graduates of tertiary-type B and tertiary-type A/advanced research programmes were 81% and 82%, respectively.

  • In most OECD countries, the difference in employment rates between the sexes was less pronounced among graduates of tertiary-type A and advanced research programmes compared with the upper secondary graduates. In Canada, a 10-percentage-point difference was observed between men and women in the upper secondary graduation category. The male-female difference for graduates of tertiary-type A/advanced research programmes was 5 percentage points.

  • Variations in employment rates between 1997 and 2009 suggest that some educational attainment groups may be more sensitive to labour market conditions than others. Overall in Canada, adults with less than high school completion (below upper secondary) were the most affected by less favourable labour market conditions: their lowest employment rate during this period was 5 percentage points below their highest rate. There was far less variation (around 1 percentage point) in the trend for adults with tertiary education.

A6 Economic benefits of education

  • The relative earnings of Canadians aged 25 to 64 clearly indicate a marked earnings premium attributable to higher levels of educational attainment. This is seen in all OECD countries.

  • For 2008, the most notable earnings advantage is seen among those who had graduated from university programs, ISCED 5A/6 (tertiary-type A or advanced research programmes). These graduates earned considerably more—70% more on average—than high school or trade/vocational programme graduates.

  • Among individuals who had successfully completed a university education, earnings were notably higher in all provinces, ranging from an advantage of 30% in Alberta to 84% in Ontario.

  • Women in Canada continue to earn less than men, regardless of their educational attainment. In 1998, the average annual earnings for women with tertiary education (college or university) were 61% those of men; by 2008, the gender gap had narrowed slightly, yet women's earnings were still only 63% of men's.

Chapter B: Financial resources invested in education

B1 Expenditure per student

  • In Canada in 2007, expenditure per student at the secondary level exceeded that at the primary level in all provinces and territories except in the Yukon, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia and Manitoba. Expenditure on secondary education in Canada ($11,116) was only 11% greater than on primary education ($10,016), a difference much smaller than in OECD countries where, on average, approximately 31% more was allocated per student to secondary education than to primary education.

  • In Canada at the primary and secondary level, the portion of expenditure per student allocated to core services represented 95% of the total expenditure per student. This is similar to the proportion of expenditures on core services in OECD countries (93%) in primary through postsecondary non-tertiary education.

  • The total expenditure per student on university education in Canada averaged $30,317. When spending on research and development is excluded, the Canadian average was $19,362, with three provinces (Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia) exceeding the average by more than 30%.

B2 Expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP

  • With 6.0% of its GDP allocated to educational institutions in 2007, Canada devoted about the same share of its wealth as the OECD countries on average (5.9%). The allocation of financial resources to educational institutions is a collective choice, made by government, business, and individual students and their families. It is partially influenced by the size of the school-age population and enrolment in education, as well as the country's relative wealth.

  • The share of GDP devoted to educational institutions varied from one province or territory to another. The percentage of GDP invested in educational institutions in 2007 varies given the different levels of provincial/territorial wealth per capita. This is shown by notable differences between the percentages for Alberta, Nunavut, the Yukon, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

  • In 2007, 42% (2.5% of 6.0%) of the share of the GDP that Canada invested in education was allocated to the tertiary sector. Among the OECD countries, Canada, along with the United States (38%), allocated the largest share of education spending to tertiary education.

B3 Distribution of expenditure on education

  • The proportions of education expenditure allocated to current spending were relatively high in Canada in 2007: 93% for primary and secondary education, and 90% for tertiary. These figures are fairly similar to the average proportions reported by the OECD for its member countries: 92% and 91%, respectively. Current expenditure reflects spending on school resources that are used each year for the operation of schools.

  • For primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary education, the compensation of staff (78%)—particularly teachers (62%)—accounted for the largest proportion of current expenditure in Canada in 2007, a situation mirrored in all other OECD countries. At the tertiary level in Canada, 63% of current expenditure was devoted to compensation of all staff; 37% to compensation for teaching staff. In all provinces and territories, the proportion of current expenditure allocated to compensation of all staff employed in education was larger in the primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary sector than in the tertiary sector.

  • In Canada, 10% of education expenditure for tertiary education was allocated to capital expenditure; the OECD average was 9%. For primary and secondary, the corresponding figures for Canada and the OECD were close, at 7% and 8%, respectively. Capital expenditure reflects spending on assets that last longer than one year and includes spending on the construction, renovation and major repair of buildings.

  • With the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, the proportion allocated to capital expenditure was generally greater for tertiary than for primary and secondary education.

Chapter C: Access to education, participation and progression

C1 International students

  • In Canada, international students accounted for a higher proportion of enrolment in advanced research programmes (20.2%) than in tertiary-type A (6.9%) and tertiary-type B (3.8%) programmes. International students are those who are not Canadian citizens and who do not hold a permanent residency permit in Canada.

  • Across the provinces, there was little variation in the proportion of international students enrolled in the tertiary education systems, with six provinces falling within 1.5 percentage points of the Canada average. International students accounted for a higher share of total tertiary enrolment than in Canada and OECD countries in general in Prince Edward Island (11.8%), New Brunswick (9.7%), British Columbia (8.2%), Nova Scotia (7.6%) and Manitoba (7.2%).

  • With the exception of Nova Scotia, each province registered a higher proportion of international students in advanced research programmes (ISCED 6) than OECD countries in general (17.5%).

C2 Transitions to the labour market

  • The proportion of Canadian youth aged 15 to 19 who were "in education" remained quite stable over the 1999-to-2009 period, at around 80%. In the OECD countries overall, the corresponding proportion rose from 80% in 1999 to 84% in 2009, indicating the growing recognition among today's youth that staying in school is important to their future.

  • In 2009, 20% of 15- to 19-year-olds in Canada were no longer pursuing a formal education. This figure remains higher than on average in the OECD countries (16%). The Canadian figure is high in comparison, but one should be careful not to consider this as a "drop-out" rate, as many in this 15 to 19 age group may have actually graduated from high school but not pursued any further education.

  • The proportion of 15- to 19-year-olds no longer in education varied from one province to another, from 15% in Ontario to 26% in Alberta. The corresponding estimates for the territories were also high, ranging from 23% to 33%.

  • Some provinces seem more successful than others in meeting the challenge of integrating young adults with relatively low educational attainment into the labour force. In the Western provinces, the association of relatively high employment rates (approaching or around 70%) and relatively high proportions of young people not in education indicates that labour markets with shortages can draw and employ young people regardless of their educational attainment.

Chapter D: The learning environment and organization of schools

D1 Instruction time

  • In Canada in 2009, the total compulsory instruction time in formal classroom settings was 7,377 hours, on average, between the ages of 7 and 14. By comparison, total compulsory instruction time for the OECD countries for which data were available was 6,497 hours, or close to 900 fewer hours than the average total compulsory instruction time in all public institutions in Canada during the 2008/2009 school year.

  • Total compulsory instruction time for students aged 7 to 14 varied by province and territory, ranging from 7,061 hours in Nova Scotia to 8,120 hours in the Northwest Territories.

  • The average annual number of hours of compulsory instruction time for 15-year-old students who were registered in typical programmes for this age group was 921 hours in Canada. This represents about 19 hours more than the total for compulsory instruction time in the reporting OECD countries in 2009.

D2 Teachers' salaries

  • In Canada, the starting salary for teachers in public elementary and secondary schools was close to $43,000 Canadian dollars in 2008/2009, ranging across the provinces and territories from $38,641 in Quebec to $63,331 in the Northwest Territories.

  • Although the OECD averages reveal similar differences between starting salaries and those at the top (ratios of 1.6 for the OECD and Canada), Canada's teachers reached the top of their salary scales much sooner than their OECD counterparts. The OECD average for "years from starting to top salary" for teachers in lower secondary institutions was double that for Canada in 2008/2009: 24 years compared with 12.

  • For all levels taught, starting salaries in Canada and its provinces and territories were similar and consistently higher than the OECD averages for its reporting countries, at close to $36,000 (converted in US dollars) for each ISCED category. By comparison, the OECD figures were $29,767, $31,687 and $33,044 for primary, lower secondary and upper secondary institutions respectively.