Understanding the rural - urban reading gap

1. Introduction

Driven by rapid technological change and the globalisation of markets, the 21^st century affords incredible opportunity to Canada. Policy makers at all levels in Canada are interested in ensuring that all Canadians, including Canadians living in rural areas, have the skills and knowledge to capitalise on this opportunity and the flexibility to adapt to change. Schools in rural areas play a key role in generating the required skills and knowledge, including the foundation skills that support and enable efficient learning in adulthood.

This study uses data from the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) and the Programme for International Assessment (PISA) to measure the difference in reading performance between students in rural and urban schools in each province and to identify factors that may help to explain rural-urban differences. The study looks at some of the factors that help us to understand differences in the reading performance of rural and urban students and examines how differences in family, school and community environments relate to the rural-urban reading gap.

For this study, a preliminary analysis of rural and urban student populations was carried out to identify a set of variables that were consistently different for rural and urban student populations. These variables were then used to develop a model which could test which of the family, school, and community characteristics exerted the most influence in explaining the rural-urban reading gap. Because the most consistent differences between rural and urban students reflect the family and community background of students and are not subject to change in the short term (for example, parent's education), a second model was then developed to identify school characteristics that were not reported at the highest levels in rural schools in order to identify which of these characteristics has a strong relationship with student achievement.

For the purposes of this analysis, schools were identified as urban or rural according to their location in or their proximity to large urban areas. Urban schools are those located in areas identified by Statistics Canada as Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) and Census Agglomerations (CA). Schools in the remaining rural and small town areas (RST) were classified as rural.²

What is a rural school?

Rural schools are those located in Rural and small town areas (RST). Rural and Small Town (RST) refers to the population living outside the commuting zone of Larger Urban Centres (LUCs) — specifically, outside Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) and Census Agglomerations (CA). RST includes all municipalities with urban populations of 1,000 to 9,999 and rural areas, where less than 50 percent of the employed individuals commute to the urban core of a CMA/CA.

Urban schools are located in CMAs and CAs and are thus located in urban cores, together with adjacent rural and urban areas that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that urban area. A CMA has an urban core of 100,000 or over and includes all neighbouring municipalities where 50 percent or more of the labour force commutes to the urban core. A CA has an urban core of 10,000 to 99,999 and abides by the same commuting rule as a CMA.

This definition was chosen as the best representation of the urban or rural nature of the community to which 15-year-olds are exposed. Since this definition is based on actual commuting patterns, it reflects the degree to which 15-year-olds are likely to have access to an urban centre and the facilities, educational institutions, and labour market opportunities that it may provide.

For a full description of the rural definition, see Appendix B.

The Programme for International Student Assessment and the Youth in Transition Survey

In the spring of 2000, a broad sample of Canadian 15-year-olds participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is a project developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as a way to measure the skill levels of students in member countries and to understand what characteristics of students and schools influence the level and distribution of reading, mathematics and science skills among youth. In Canada, the study was carried out in conjunction with the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), which collected information from students and parents about student characteristics and experience. PISA is administered in Canada through a partnership of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada.

What is PISA?

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a collaborative effort among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to assess regularly the performance of 15-year-olds in three domains—reading literacy, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy—through a common international test. Three PISA cycles have been planned, each one focussing on a different literacy domain. In 2000, the major focus was reading literacy, with mathematical and scientific literacy as minor domains. As a result, there were fewer mathematics and science items included in the assessment and these items were administered to a sub-sample of participants. Mathematical and scientific literacy will be the focus in 2003 and 2006, respectively.

Thirty-two countries participated in PISA 2000. In Canada, approximately 30,000 15-year-old students from more than 1,000 schools took part. A large Canadian sample was drawn so that information could be provided at both national and provincial levels.

The PISA 2000 survey included a direct assessment of students' skills through reading, mathematics and science tests as well as questionnaires collecting background information from students and school principals.

The first results for PISA 2000 are available in the report, Measuring up: the Performance of Canada's youth in reading, mathematics and science — OECD PISA Study — First results for Canadians aged 15 (81-590-XIE). This publication is available electronically without charge, through the Internet at www.statcan.ca, www.pisa.gc.ca, and www.cmec.ca. In addition, the International OECD Report, Knowledge and Skills for Life: First results from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, is available on the OECD's website www.pisa.oecd.org.

What is YITS?

The Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) is a new Canadian longitudinal survey designed to examine the major transitions in young people's lives, particularly with respect to education, training and work. Survey results will provide a deeper understanding of the nature and causes of challenges young people face as they manage their transitions. The survey will help support policy planning and decision making that addresses these problems.

YITS will examine key transitions in the lives of youth, such as the transition from high school to postsecondary education and from schooling to the labour market. The factors that determine high school completion are examined, as well as the effects of school experiences on educational and occupational outcomes, and the contribution of work experience programs, part-time jobs and volunteer activities. To collect this information, current plans are to survey the same group of young people every two years, over a period of several years. The second survey cycle of YITS took place in 2002.

Two different age groups are participating in YITS, the 15-year-old cohort who also participated in PISA, and an 18- to 20-year-old cohort. The youth aged 18 to 20, who were surveyed in 2000 as part of the YITS project, did not participate in PISA. Results for the 18- to 20-year-old YITS cohort can be found in At a Crossroads: First results for the 18 to 20-year-old cohort of the Youth in Transition Survey (81-591-XIE, free) available through the Internet at www.statcan.ca and www.pisa.gc.ca.

²The location of schools rather than students' homes was used for this analysis because one important aspect of this study is to identify whether differences in the schools themselves are important factors in urban — rural differences. While it is also important to understand the location of students' homes, this information was not available for this analysis.

Contents

Understanding the rural - urban reading gap - November 2002

1. Introduction