Trends & Prospective

Eight in Ten (80%) Parents Use their Finger to Point to Words when Reading to Young Children
Harry Potter (11%), Winnie the Pooh (9%) and Caillou (7%) Top Characters That Parents Feel Their Children Would Want to Come to Life to Read to Them

Total Cost of a Post-Secondary Education Estimated to be More than $50,000
Over Four in Ten (44%) Parents Expect to Split Costs with Child
Four in Ten (38%) Have a Registered Education Savings Plans for their Children

Just Six in Ten (59%) Use Up All Their Vacation Days Each Year

Annual Canadian History Quiz Sends Albertans (60%), British Columbians (57%) and Ontarians (56%) To Top of the Class . . . Atlantic Canadians (45%), Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (40%) and Quebec (39%) Flunk
Overall, Half (50%) of Canadians Pass, Half Fail (50%)Quiz of Canada's Participation in World Organizations and Events Since World War II

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One In Six (16%) Send Potter A Howler And Say It Should Be Banned Because Of Witchcraft

Half (47%) Feel There Has Been a Decrease in Quality of Post-Secondary Education in Province Since 1995 . . . Province Split on Grading with 49% Giving Government Grades of `A', `B' or `C', While 48% Give Grade of `D' or Lower on Post-Secondary Education

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The percentage who say public education is working well (57%) in the province has dropped 10 points since February 2003

76% of Albertans say that the Alberta government is currently spending "not enough" on public education

Nine-in-ten (90%) Albertans agree that "class size makes a big difference in the quality of education delivered at public schools"