Ranking:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranks 15-year-olds from throughout the world in mathematics, science, and reading. According to the latest (2022) study, Canada is ranked ahead of Australia, the UK, and the US in all categories:
- In Mathematics: Singapore is #1, Canada is #9, UK is #14, Australia is #16 and US is #34
- In Science: Singapore is #1, Canada is #8, Australia is #10, UK is #15, and US is #16
- In Reading: Singapore is #1, Canada is #8, US is #9, Australia is #12, UK is #13
Overview of the Canadian Education System:
- Publicly-funded elementary and high school is free for Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, and children whose parents hold a valid work permit in Canada.
- Elementary school: starts at age 4, with one year of junior kindergarten, followed by one year of senior kindergarten, followed by Grades 1 to 8, i.e., 10 years of study from junior kindergarten to Grade 8.
- High school: four years, from Grades 9 to 12. Students can choose either academic courses which prepare them for university or choose the “applied" courses which prepare them for community college programs.
- Community colleges are heavily involved in apprenticeship programs in the trades. (In Canada, plumbers and electricians are extraordinarily well paid!)
- Since French is one of Canada’s two official languages, every province has French-only elementary schools and French-only high schools.
- The provinces of Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan have a publicly-funded Catholic school system.
- Entrance into universities and colleges is based primarily on academics. In the visual and performing arts, experience, an audition, and/or a portfolio are also required.
- University scholarships of significant value are rare. But significant discounts in tuition are offered to students whose parents are currently working at the university which the student is attending.
Private Schools:
Private elementary schools and private high schools are available in Canada. Tuition fees range widely: day fees range roughly from C$15,000-C$35,000/year and boarding fees range roughly from C$60,000-C$83,000/year.
