Opinion: Canada’s science strategy needs to start in the classroom 

Canada is making a major bet on science.

Governments and universities are spending heavily to attract leading researchers and strengthen Canada’s scientific capacity. B.C. is at the centre of that effort, with UBC recently recruiting a new cohort of world-leading researchers. These are important investments in the country’s future.

But a strong scientific pipeline has to start somewhere. It starts with the students sitting in today’s classrooms.

The latest results from the Programme for International Student Assessment provide reason for concern. The assessment is a global benchmark of reading, mathematics and science skills at age 15. It is especially valuable in Canada, as it is our only external measure that compares student performance across provinces and shows how Canada fares internationally.

Our average science score of 510, compared with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 482, placed us fourth among 38 industrialized countries. But that ranking does not tell the full story. Canada’s science performance had remained relatively stable through 2015. It has declined steadily since.

Canada’s average science score has fallen by 18 points in the past decade. The OECD estimates that 15-year-olds typically gain about 20 assessment points over a year of schooling. Strong mathematics and science skills matter to Canada’s productivity and innovation. They also matter to investment. Companies deciding where to build and grow look for highly skilled workers and for strong schools and universities that will produce the next generation.

The clearest comparison is with the United States. In 2015, Canadian students scored 32 points higher in science. By 2025, that advantage had shrunk to just eight points. Canada’s decline began well before COVID, while U.S. results have been remarkably steady since 2009.

B.C. has not escaped the national trend. Science proficiency is measured on six levels, with level 1 indicating the weakest skills and level 6 the strongest. The pattern since 2006 is striking. The proportion of B.C. students at level 2 or below has risen from 28.5 to 38.9 per cent, while the proportion reaching levels 5 or 6 has fallen from 16.0 to 11.1 per cent. At the same time, B.C.’s traditional advantage over the rest of Canada has largely disappeared.

There is no single explanation for these trends, but reading is part of the story. The assessment’s science scores are not simply a test of science facts. In one 2025 task, students read about an offshore wind farm, examine a diagram, weigh economic and environmental evidence, and write an explanation defending their decision. Students who cannot read the material well have little chance to show what they know about science.