the
hera

, Clarity and

The first phase of the
Ministry of Education's
province wide learning
assessment P ram has
concluded that achievement
by students in the British
Columbia school system in
the English language arts is
_ Satisfactory, but that some
areas of weaknesses do
exist,

the three reports resulting
from. the assessment
program conclude that on
-the basis of a reading test
administered to 35,000 grade
4 students, students appear
to be performing at a
satisfactory level in such
areas as basic vocabulary,
understanding parts of
words, identifying the main
idea Of a paragraph, ap-
plying logical reasoning
skills and understanding
product labels. The only
major weakness noted at the
grade 4reading level was in

e use of the dictionary.

On the basis of an essay
written by a random sample
of 38,000 grade 8 and 12
students: and marked by a
group of experienced
teachers, it was found that
students are strong in
communicating their basic
ideas but weak in the
mechanies of writing. This
would indicate that higher
priority be given to im-
proving writing skills.

Grade 8 students were
found to be able to maintain
a point of view, organize and
use acceptable vocabular
and use acceptable hand-
writing while _ their
weaknesses include the

sentences, spelling and
punctuation. . .
At the grade 12 level the
researchers indicated that
students were able to
maintain a point of view and
use acceptable vocabulary
handwriting,

. In their reports,

structure of.

_ The learning assessment
reports were prepared for
the ministry by a team of
University of Victoria
researchers headed by Dr.
Peter Evanechko. The lack
of ravince-wide
formation describing what
is being learned in the
schools and the quality of
that learning was a major
concern to many educators
and the public. As a result of
that concern the assessment
of students performance in
English language was
initiated in October 1975 to

rovide needed data on the
lish language arts and
togerve as a pilot for future
studies in other areas of the

’ curriculum.

The principal purpose of
the program, entitle
Language: B.C. was to

document the strengths and’

weaknesses of certain areas
of student learning with a
view to implementing
changes in the allocation of
resources, the modification
of curricula, the develop-
ment of teacher education
programs and the direction
of future ' educational
research in B.C. :
the
_researchers state that it is
evident that teachers, by
and large, have a good idea
of their primary objectives
and that they incorporate
appropriate methods into
their classroom activities to
achieve those objectives.

The. researchers also
state: “It ig equally clear
that many factors are
perceived as inhibiting
effective language arts —
English: programs, . among

them class size and pupil -

load, teacher training and

background, lack of time for _

7 .
i
4

in- -

reparation and individual
mstruction, inadequate

. texts and materials.”

The. study. touches. on a
number Of factors that
appear to influence the
quality of learning. in-
cluding the high mobility of
society, the influence of
television - and the
significant percentage of
students learning English as
a second language. The
researchers concluded that,
contrary to popular belief,
the more television wat-
ched, up to two hours daily
for grade four students, the
better the reading per-
formance, It was found that
afler watching for two to
four hours daily, per-.
formance dropped while
after four hours daily,
performance matched that

Learning assessment - phase one |

reports is that teachers at
the secondary level: ap:
portion more time te
composition, place. more
emphasis. on writing as a

unique subject and assign

more compositions,

The study found that |
about one-third of grade 8

teachers and one-quarter. of
grade 11 and 12 teachers
reported no university
training in composition
teachings.. It urges the
faculties of education at the
universities to “‘ensure that
their students acquire a

propriate
ackgrounds as well as
professional
training in oral com-
munication, reading,
writing, and children’s
literature and reading (at

necessary

academic,

~ home and family living |

NOVEMBER 10, 1976

4

the elemen level), and

composition, listening and:
‘ skills instruction’
(at the secondary level).

district. The individual:
districts are being en-:
cOuraged to ‘ involve.
teachers and the public in:
the process of in :
the readin :
own districts

and in:
devel :

results of thee:

oping :
follow-up plan directed at:
student needs in their:
schools, The ministry of:

education at alse en--
couraging them to elop:
comprehensive ascsament:
programs at the local level. :

of those who watch no
television. The survey found
that about 50 percent of the
grade 4 population watched

ree or more hours of
television on a schoo] day.
. The assessment revealed
that students who frequently
changed schools scored
lower than other students,
and that over 25 percent of
the grade 4 students at-
tended three or more
schools since grade 1. It was
also found that students new
to Canada, and who speak a
language besides English at
home, scored significantly
lower than other students.
About 16 percent of the
grade 4 population reported
they spoke a language other
than English before starting
school and that English is

For

not the only language
spoken in the home.

One of the main recom-
mendations of the over 100

that are contained in the

MUMFORD, nove |

Lyau, Monday, November 22 in fhe arena hanquet room, Cocktails will be... handwriting. The .
eld at 6:30 p.m. and dinner will start at 7 p.m. The door prize is air fare . .. ; Wellmessés ‘were “ideatitied w «
“ee av ion - pS E AN TL aT

ail $iS each, can be dayal t ¢ hs
obtained from any Kinette or by phoning Denise Coulter at 635-7959. and maturity Of expression,

Legion

Ladies

Auxiliary} —
The general monthly | . . °.... _f o ,

meeting of the Legion o— . ee

Ladies Auxiliary came to + . :
New Schedule Highlights

- Connections from the Gariboo and Okanagan

order at 8 p.m., Tuesday,
November 2 in the Legion
_ = Change to Afternoon Service
SCHEDULE EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 1976

find

ce Bree oo bea et . wo
@ : re td

‘350°

nti,

NORTHERN THUNDERBIRD AIA

Hall. President Jean Dixon
chaired the meeting with 37
members and three guests
in attendance. = ;
Two of the guests for the
evening were from Branch
250, Kitimat. They were
Fran: Nelson and Eleanor
Halley. Locally, Bev Tasa,.
who is planning on joining

the Auxiliary. starting the | TWIN OTTER bc3 - 1 Ee
reve hove to see all the MONDAY TO FRIDAY MONDAY. TO FRIDAY ", si
ladies out in uniform for the ] Flight 400 ’ Flight 402 s
up and coming Armistice | Prince George D 0700- Prince George D 0720 rs
Day-Parade which begins at- | Quesnel A 0720: Willlams Lake 4 0805 gees eam: i
10:308.m. from the Safeway | Quesnel - D0725. Williams Lake D 0810. § i a ml
Parking iot. .- - Williams Lake SA 0750 Kamloops A 0855 {6) q fi ae 2
Our. anual Fall Bazaar ; . * Kamloops D 090. :
will be “held ‘Saturday, | Williams Lake — D 0800 P . 5 , “ed
November 27 from 1 to 4 in | Kamloops — A0845 (1) (2) Kelowna | A.0930 (7) (8) iS
the Arena Banquet: Room., | Flight 401 ‘ . Kelowna Oddo ; me
~The ‘ladies. are als0 | Kamloops Dovs0 (3) (4) Kelowna _ D 0940 ot
reminded to bring a giftand | wiiiams Lake A 1040 - Penticton A 6955 :
we need a good turn out for | witjiams Lake D 1050 Flight 403 an, *
December meeting as this is Alls: Penticton D 1435 P mt
the Elections of our new | Quesnel - Sy <1.
slate of officers. ‘| Quesnel D 1120 Kelowna - A150 ' ; ale :
ee Prince George A 1145°(5) Kelowna D 1520.-° ioe. ; *
. > Tetri Flight 404 , amlaops A 1545 oe
a. District Prince George’ D 1220 Kamloops D 1600. ; _
Conference = | smithers A 1330 Williams A V6d5° a : 24
ah hues h Jesus Smithers D 1340 Williams Lake D 1655 4 Price. conpare the new low price* for the Mazda Mizer 1300 ce coupe with og
Christ of Latter Day Saints -| Terrace A 1470 ._* Prince George, A 1740 - Honda Civic, Datsun B210, Toyota Corolia, VW Rabbit and Chevette. You'll agree, 4
rist of Latter Day Sain Terrace D 1430 CONNECTIONS sO “ "the Mazda Mizer is the Best Buy. 4
will be holding their District ; ‘ ; . a
Conference in: Terrace on | Prince Rupert A 1505’ (7), PWA 300 to Vancouver oe  ] Mil , ; . ‘
Saturday and Sunday, Flight 405 ; (2) NTA 402 fo Kelowna, Penticton & Calgary _ eC The Mazda Mizer.was the first car to get over 50 mpg highway of

(28 mpe city) in the °76 EPA tests.t

November 19 and 14; 1976. A -|. Prince-Rupert : D 1525 (3) PWA 300 from Calgary

For Reservations and Information Call: © |. .
‘Pentleton - PWA - 492-0614
Terrace - CP Alr - 635-7111 -
Prince Rupert - CP Air - 624-9181
Smithers - PWA . 847:3534. . ;

warm invitation is extended ‘| Jerrace ™ A 1600 A301 from Vancovver ; ; ; ; ;

to all members and friends | Jerrace - D 1610 ts yA 404 to Smithers, Terrace and Prince Rupert e Ss, Every Mazda Mizer comes fully equipped with features like

to attend. Members of the | smithers A 1645 PWA'300 to Vancouver oo power assisted front disc brakes. electric rear window defroster, high-back front

Canada. Vancouver Mission | , (6) 0 a oe a ucket seats and 60 amp/hr heavy duty battery.

will .be ‘visiting this con- | Smithers D 1655 (7) PWA 305 fo Calgary . ; ; .

ference." Prince George A 1800 (g) ARROW 18) to Castlegar and Cranbrook 9 e deal! 7
Sin meting ret : : Sthetimetosealadeal:

the Officers of the Branches.
Sunday. meeting is. for ali
members and friends.’
‘Sunday .. meeting — is
scheduled for 10 a.m. in.the
Caledonia High . School
lecture room, —
~ Any. further: information
‘ can be obtained by calling
the. Branch President in.
your area. . .

Prince George - PWA - 9639651
_ Quesnel - PWA - 992-9768 -

Willlams Lake --PWA - 989-4331
_ Kamloops - PWA - 376-5721 |
:.. Kelowna - PWA - 763-6620

*Price based on Manufacturer's suggesie’ retail price poe. Hallfas, . :
*. Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, not including handling charges, license. gas, 7
‘- provincial sales tox or loca! freight where applicable, Any Individual dealer is Mada Motors ot Canada Lid.
free to, sell at atesser price, Com parisons based on manufacturer's suggested retail prices at time at
of publication. TMileage based on U.S, Environmental Protection Agency test results. The mileage figures .
are estimates (U.S. gallons converted to Imperial gallons.) The actual mileage you get will vary depending
on the type of driving you do, your driving habits, your car's condition and optional equipment.

“Skeena Auto Metal Shop Ltd. 4842 Highway 16 West. 635-6571 :

. Or Your Local Travel Agent so

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