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French immersion programs were introduced into Canadian schools in the 1970s in order to encourage bilingualism across the country. Thirty years later, immersion programs exist to various degrees in every province, providing an alternative education stream for many students. This report uses data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) to profile the reading achievement of Canadian 15-year-olds currently enrolled in immersion programs.

This report presents the results of the PISA assessment for immersion and non-immersion students in English-language school systems in the ten provinces. It also provides some information on the family background of students in these programs. It does not measure the relative influence of all these factors on the reading performance of students in immersion programs. Further analysis is required to disentangle the factors that lie behind the high performance of these students.

Enrolment in French Immersion differs widely by province

While French immersion programs exist in English-language school systems in all ten provinces, the percentage of 15-year-olds enrolled in these programs according to YITS/PISA ranges widely, from only 2% in British Columbia to 32% in New Brunswick (Table 7).

Table 7 Percentage of students in English-language school systems who are currently enrolled in French immersion programs

% currently enrolled % currently enrolled

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in French immersion in Immersion

who started

before grade 4

(early immersion)

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Newfoundland and Labrador 7 57

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Prince Edward Island 20 59

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Nova Scotia 12 21

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New Brunswick 32 39

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Quebec 22 74

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Ontario 6 57

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Manitoba 6 90

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Saskatchewan 3 87

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Alberta 4 80

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British Columbia 2 55

Table 7 Percentage of students in English-language school systems who are currently enrolled in French immersion programs--continued

% of students who are girls

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Immersion Non-immersion

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Newfoundland and Labrador 64 50

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Prince Edward Island 58 51

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Nova Scotia 58 49

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New Brunswick 61 46

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Quebec 52 48

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Ontario 64 51

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Manitoba 60 48

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Saskatchewan 65 48

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Alberta 59 47

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British Columbia 61 49

In most provinces, students may enter French immersion programs at different times and many children begin immersion programs when they enter school (Kindergarten or Grade 1 - Early immersion). Others start midway through elementary...

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