Canadian teens have ranked third in a global education study on science performance published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The OECD's latest Programme for International Student Assessment survey ranked Canada behind Finnish students, who placed first, and students from Hong Kong in proficiency at science for the 2006 study.
Canada was followed by Taiwan, Estonia, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
More than 400,000 15-year-old students in 57 countries were surveyed to test students' abilities in comprehending and tackling scientific problems. Students were also tested on reading comprehension and math.
"On average across OECD countries, 1.3 per cent of 15-year-olds reached Level 6 of the PISA 2006 science scale, the highest proficiency level. These students could consistently identify, explain and apply scientific knowledge, and knowledge about science, in a variety of complex life situations," an OECD statement read on Tuesday.
"In New Zealand and Finland this figure was at least 3.9 per cent, three times the OECD average. In the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and Canada, as well as the partner countries/economies Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Hong Kong-China, between 2 and 3 per cent reached Level 6."
Canadian performance
In Canada, about 22,000 15-year-old students from about 1,000 schools participated.
Canadian teens had a mean reading score, consistent with Canada's 2003 survey results, and demonstrated mean performances that were significantly above the OECD average in math-based skills.
"This suggests that although Canada's performance in reading is strong, Canadian 15-year-olds must improve in reading at the pace of other leading countries, not just simply maintain the status quo, if they are to keep the nation's competitive edge," a Statistics Canada summation of the results said.
All provinces performed above the average in science and students from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec were beat out only by Finnish students.
Students from Alberta performed significantly higher than students from other provinces. Alberta performed two-thirds of a proficiency level higher than students from Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick on the combined science scale.
Teens from Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia performed the same as the Canadian average while students from Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan performed significantly below average.
Among other western nations, Britain finished in 14th place, France came in at 25th place and the United States followed at No. 29 in science performance.
On the math test, students in Taiwan, Finland and Hong Kong topped the charts. In reading, South Korea came out on top, followed by Finland and Hong Kong.
Upon release of the survey's findings, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurr锟絘 emphasized how critical education is in personal and societal development.
"Effective and innovative education policies open enormous opportunities for individuals", Gurria said Tuesday from Tokyo.
"They also underpin healthy and vibrant economies. In the highly competitive globalized economy of today, quality education is one of the most valuable assets that a society and an individual can have."
General results
The survey found no difference between male and female teens in average science performance in the majority of countries, including 22 of the 30 OECD countries.
Different socio-economic levels accounted for significant differences between schools in some countries, the survey said.
On average across the OECD, students in private schools outperformed students in public schools in 21 countries, while public schools outperformed private ones in four countries.
PISA found no relationship between the size of the country and the average performance of the 15-year-olds.
While the majority of students expressed an interest in learning science, a small fraction of those surveyed said they would actually be interested in pursuing a career in the field.
Thirty countries make up the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which collects data, monitors global trends and forecasts economic developments in trade, environment, agriculture, technology and taxation.
The 2006 survey marks the third time PISA has conducted the global student survey, which was first launched in 2000.
