Among the World's Best Scientists

As a nation, an education is one of the most important gifts that we could give our children. It has become a necessary endeavor for anyone looking to better themselves and their position in life. This becomes especially true for those students interested in the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics fields. The interest is introduced at a young age and then cultivated once the students enter university. Here in Canada, we are pleased to say that our students and education system are staying ahead of the global curve and according to the latest survey evaluating student achievement across 72 countries, Canada's 15-year-olds rank near the top of the global science class.

Top Three Globally

During the OECD's 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment, which was released on Tuesday, tested students for their proficiency in math, reading, and science. Students scored quite strongly in reading and science and were steady in math. Though math may have been the weaker of the three subjects, it was still a relatively high placement score. Eighty percent of the Canadian participants had mastered proficiency in all three subjects, but it was in science where our students excelled.

Canadian students ranked third among 35 OECD countries in science, who are tied by Finland, and were outperformed by Japan and Estonia. Amongst all countries, 72 in total, Canada ranked fourth, statistically tied with six other countries. Bonnie Schmidt, president of the educational non-profit Let’s Talk Science, had this to say, "This is showing us that we are in good shape, it’s a good story, it’s stable....though we can't be complacent." Over the past ten years, Canada has been statistically steady with scores. Though there is more work to be done, it is safe to say that we are on the right track.