ZWAAGSTRA. MacPHERSON: More Alberta families leave government-run schools

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As student test scores in Alberta continue to decline, an increasing share of Alberta parents are choosing to send their children to alternative schools.

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From 2000 to 2025, according to new results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) — which tests 15-year-old students worldwide in math, science and reading — Alberta’s reading scores dropped a staggering 51 points or the equivalent of two-and-a-half years of lost learning. Math scores are even worse, dropping 58 points or nearly three grade levels. And science scores dropped more than one grade level.

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Independent schools becoming more popular

Meanwhile, from 2001 to 2024, the number of young people (aged 5-17) in Alberta grew by 38.3%, partly because in the 2021/22 school year, the total number of immigrants to Canada more than doubled. Given this population boom, one might expect enrolment in government-run schools to grow in tandem. But it didn’t — over the same period, enrolment in Alberta’s public and separate schools only grew by 26.8%. And the share of students in public and separate schools actually decreased from 94.6% to 90.3%. Clearly, while most Alberta parents still send their kids to government-run schools, the proportion is shrinking.

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By contrast, during that same period (2001-2024), enrolment at independent schools more than doubled and the proportion of students who attend these schools grew from 4.1% to 6.7%. While independent schools charge tuition fees, Alberta has a long history of partial government funding for independent schools, which makes them more affordable for families including many lower- and middle-income families.

Alberta is also the only province with charter schools — tuition-free autonomous public schools that operate independent of a school board. Charter schools are also rapidly growing in popularity. The number of students enrolled in charter schools nearly quadrupled from 2001 to 2024, though charter schools comprise only 1.6% of total enrolment.

Another growing alternative is homeschooling. Compared to other provinces, Alberta has the highest percentage of students being homeschooled (3%), and the number of students being homeschooled more than tripled from 2001 to 2024. The Alberta government provides limited funding (typically around $1,000 per child) to homeschooling parents who choose to operate under the supervision of a school authority. This obviously doesn’t cover the full costs of homeschooling, but clearly the Alberta government recognizes homeschooling comes at a cost to families.

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All told, Alberta offers more choice than anywhere else in Canada when it comes to supporting different types of school options. Yet with increasing demand for these alternatives and an increasingly diverse student body, the government could do more to support school choice.

Flexibility is important

Independent schools and charter schools often use supplementary curricula, academic programs and varying teaching methods, but to receive funding they must follow the provincial curriculum and hire almost all certified teachers. This affects how much these schools can truly differ from government-run schools, in turn effectively reducing parental choice. If the government allowed more flexibility in curriculum choices — while maintaining standards through a system of provincewide standardized testing — and allowed independent and charter schools to hire more subject matter experts or diversify their teacher training, it could help increase educational choice in Alberta.

For children to flourish, Alberta must build on its strong foundation of educational diversity where school choice is recognized and supported.

Michael Zwaagstra and Paige MacPherson are senior fellows at the Fraser Institute.

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