Student Learning Survey information for administrators

Last updated on January 16, 2024

The Student Learning Survey is an annual province-wide census of Grades 4, 7, 10 and 12 students, their parents and staff in public schools. The questions were developed with input from partner groups, teachers and experts in educational measurement and special education.

It usually takes about 30 minutes to complete the required survey questions – it may take longer depending on the number of questions added by schools and districts.

See the new 2023-24 SLS Administration Manual (PDF) for further details on how to administer the survey.


On the page:

Questions and responses

Questions are reviewed regularly based on the usefulness of the trends and patterns that the responses reveal as well as consideration of major users of the data, and input from school administrators, educators and respondents. 

Review the standard questions on the survey for each grade:

 

Adding questions

To help address local issues, schools and districts can add custom questions. It's recommended that staff work together in developing questions to avoid duplication and reduce cost. Any format or response scale is acceptable.

Additional questions must be submitted by December to the survey administrator, AWIS.

 

Response scales

Most of the survey questions use the frequency of occurrence scale (e.g. "at no time" or "all the time"). Special education experts recommend this scale to ensure the broadest range of participants is able to respond to survey questions. Other response scales are acceptable for questions added by schools and districts.

 

Results

While the survey is in session, schools and districts can access interim results from the survey administrator.

Interim reports on parent participation by district are available during survey administration. Reports of final results are posted toward the end of each school year. The public reports do not include results from questions added by schools and districts.

With over 10 years of results for some questions, the survey provides a stable source of data on the education experience. Data from the survey is used by schools, districts, government ministries, external organizations, and academic researchers.

Providing access

The survey administrator (AWIS) supplies logon numbers to schools for distribution to staff, parents and students.

Most questions on the Student Learning Survey – student versions – are identifiable by Personal Education Number (PEN). There are several questions that are anonymous, where the student’s PEN is encrypted prior to the data being stored. The open-ended questions are screened for personal identifiable information prior to analysis.

Staff, principal/vice-principal, and parent surveys are anonymous.

Students and staff require a logon number to access the appropriate survey. Parents can access the survey with a logon number (automatically selects the appropriate survey for the child’s school and grade level), or without a logon number (the parent must select the child’s school and grade level in order to access the appropriate survey).

Contact information

For technical and administrative support, please contact:

A. Willock Information Systems (AWIS)