Calgary (Rajeev Sharma): Alberta’s 15-year-olds have once again demonstrated strong academic performance, placing the province among the leading education systems in Canada and around the world, according to the latest PISA assessment.
Students in Alberta have posted impressive results in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), outperforming both Canadian and international averages in science, reading and mathematics.
The province emerged as the top-performing Canadian province in science and reading, while placing second in mathematics, with Quebec recording a higher score in that subject.
The results underline Alberta’s continued strength in educating students and preparing them to compete with their peers internationally.
Alberta Students Perform Strongly Across Three Subjects
The PISA assessment evaluates the abilities of 15-year-old students in key areas, providing an opportunity to compare education outcomes across provinces and countries.
Alberta’s latest performance placed its students alongside some of the world’s strongest-performing education systems. Results in several areas were statistically comparable with countries including Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Estonia.
Alberta Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides credited students, educators, families and school communities for the province’s performance.
He said the results demonstrate that Alberta students continue to perform at a high level internationally, adding that the government intends to maintain efforts aimed at giving students a strong academic foundation.
Schools Highlight Role of Teachers and Communities
Education leaders across Alberta also welcomed the assessment results, pointing to classroom instruction and academic support as important factors behind student achievement.
Dr. Matthew McIsaac, chair of Christ The Redeemer Catholic Schools, said the organisation was pleased to play a part in Alberta’s performance. He highlighted the school system’s emphasis on academic rigour and ensuring students receive the support needed to succeed.
The Calgary Board of Education also pointed to its students’ performance as an indication of the impact of effective teaching and a broader focus on student achievement.
CBE chair Laura Hack said the results were particularly encouraging given the diversity of the school district, describing the performance as evidence of the positive contribution made by teachers and the education system.
Why PISA Results Matter
Participation in PISA gives education authorities a common benchmark for assessing student achievement against national and international standards.
The assessment can also help identify areas where students are performing particularly well while highlighting subjects or skills where additional attention may be required.
For Alberta, the latest results provide policymakers and educators with another source of information to assess classroom practices, curriculum and longer-term education strategies.
With Alberta students continuing to rank among the strongest performers in Canada and comparing favourably with leading education systems worldwide, the latest PISA findings offer a positive snapshot of academic achievement across the province.
