Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP)

Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP)
Summary of changes
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Detailed information for 2024

Status:

Active

Frequency:

2 times per year

Record number:

5420

The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) provides a statistical portrait of the elementary, secondary and postsecondary education systems.

Data release - May 1, 2025

Description

The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) is an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Education Statistics Council that provides a statistical portrait of the elementary, secondary and postsecondary education systems through data tables and fact sheets aimed at policy makers, practitioners and the general public.

PCEIP highlights the most recent data available for five broad indicator sets:

1. A portrait of the school-age population
2. Financing education systems
3. Elementary and secondary education
4. Postsecondary education
5. Transitions and outcomes.

Reference period: Reference periods vary by indicator. With some exceptions, reference periods are typically calendar year, school year or Census day.

Collection period: Collection periods vary by indicator. Refer to the definitions, data sources and methods of the source survey or statistical program of interest for more information.

Subjects

  • Education indicators
  • Education, training and learning
  • Outcomes of education

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) draws from a wide variety of data sources to provide information on the school-age population, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, transitions, and labour market outcomes.

The target population varies across indicators. The main target population is the school age population, which is all individuals between the ages of 5-24, whether or not they are in school. Some indicators also target individuals between the ages of 25-64 and all individuals employed by educational institutions.

Instrument design

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Sampling

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Data sources

Data are collected directly from survey respondents, extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

PCEIP draws from a wide variety of data sources.

There are several main sources for the PCEIP that originate from Statistics Canada. Labour Force Survey (LFS) data is used to provide information on student labour force participation, participation in education, and educational attainment. The National Graduates Survey (NGS) provides data on educational outcomes for postsecondary graduates.

Data from the Census and National Household Survey is used to provide demographic information on the school-age population.

The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) works with the provincial/territorial ministries of education to provide data about true cohort high school graduation rates, assessment data, and teacher-related information.

The Elementary-Secondary Education Survey (ESES), Post-Secondary Information System (PSIS) and Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS) provide enrollment and graduation data for students. The University and College Academic System (UCASS) provides data on staff.

The Financial Information of Elementary and Secondary Schools (FINESS), Financial Information of Colleges (FINCOL) and Financial Information of Universities (FINUNI) are used for financial data on educational institutions.

PCEIP uses expenditure and enrollment data in order to calculate expenditure per student. For further information on specific indicators, please reference the PCEIP handbook at https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/81-582-G, or the source data provider.

Error detection

Not applicable.

Imputation

Not applicable.

Estimation

Estimation varies based on the source material and is done by both the PCEIP team and from the sources PCEIP takes data from. For more information on a particular statistic, refer to the respective program that produces the statistic. As expenditure per student is an indicator created by the PCEIP team, details are given below.

Expenditure per student at a given level is calculated by dividing total expenditure by educational institutions at that level by the corresponding full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment. FTE enrollment is calculated by multiplying the number of part-time students by an estimated adjustment factor, and then adding that to the number of full-time students.

The adjustment factor considers how many part-time students it takes to use the same amount of resources as one full-time student, estimated either by attendance time (e.g. half-day kindergarten), or course load (e.g. course load difference between part-time and full-time students in post-secondary). In the case where there are zero part-time (PT) students, that component of the calculation becomes zero, so the result would correctly be just the number of full-time students.

Quality evaluation

Validation is done by comparing estimates with values from previous years, as well as comparisons with similar sources of data. Prior to release, consultations are held with both internal and external stakeholders to confirm data accuracy and improve analysis.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Statistical revisions are carried out to incorporate the most recent information from the Labour Force Survey.

Seasonal adjustment is not necessary due to indicators being annual.

Data accuracy

The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) draws from a wide variety of data sources. The accuracy can vary based on the original source. Please review original source data for further details.

Documentation

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