A Winnipeg family is outraged after being asked to fill out an international reading survey for Grade 4 students that isn't inclusive to LGBT families.

Mark Zoldy said The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) doesn't include his same-sex family.

"It's inappropriate, hugely inappropriate," said Zoldy. "If you turn from page to page it is solidly consistent. It is always child's father and child's mother."

Zoldy says the survey shouldn't attach gender to the child's parent. He would like to see parent 1 and parent 2 instead of mother and father. The survey measures reading and literacy levels of children in more than 50 countries. It is facilitated by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

Parents of some Grade 4 children in Canada will be asked to participate and fill out the questionnaire and check off their answers under mother or father.

"So in other words, one of us, in this same sex relationship, that has lasted for 30 years, must become female to be recognized as legitimate or as a family," said Zoldy.

Zoldy filed a complaint with the Manitoba's Department of Education and Advanced Learning and The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, which oversees the survey in Canada.

"This does not reflect Canadian values," said Zoldy. "This does not jive, or work in accord with our laws, our statutes, our codes. It violates them."

Not good enough

A provincial spokesperson for the Department of Education and Advanced Learning said it shares the concerns raised by Mark Zoldy over the language used in the assessment and whether it appropriately reflects the diversity of Manitoba families.

The spokesperson said the department has reached out to The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) "and is encouraging them to work with [Equality for Gays And Lesbians Everywhere] Canada on this and any future assessments to ensure that they use appropriate language."

The province said if changes are not made, it will opt out of participating in any study it views to be contrary to the principles of diversity and equality that Manitobans expect.

Gender not a factor, says PIRLS

PIRLS said in a statement only one parent is meant to fill out the questionnaire.

"The gender of the parents plays no role at all, and no complaints have been made to date," said Chad Minnich, who is with the TIMMs and PIRLS International Study Center.

Minnich said in the beginning of the survey the parent is able to self identify choosing from the following options:

Mother, stepmother, or female guardian

Father, stepfather, or male guardian

Other

But Zoldy said the questions clearly call for responses from two parents as indicated in the survey pictures (as shown in the story.)

PIRLS says only one parent is meant to fill out the questionnaire. ​Minnich said it is a very collaborative process with all the countries when it comes to coming up with questions and wording.

The survey sent out to Grade 4 students is a test run. Minnich said the main data collection will start in 2016.

The CMEC said it is following up on the province's suggestion and will work with the IEA about this concern.

"We recognize that this formulation does not fully capture the diversity of families in Canada," said Louis Lizotte, interim director general of the CMEC.

He said once all the surveys are collected, the information will be reviewed by the international study consortium.