Posted September 25, 2013-Secondary school students of Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board showed mixed results on Education Quality and Assessment Office (EQAO) provincial assessments written in the spring.
Students in all publicly-funded schools in Ontario are required to write the provincial assessments, administered by EQAO, a provincial body that tests student'skills in literacy (reading and writing) in Grades 3, 6 and 10 and math skills in Grades 3, 6 and 9.
"Our students continue to make sustained, incremental growth over time. We are pleased to see the improvement in mathematics. However, the recent decrease in literacy results is concerning to us. Our teams will be examining the data to help inform improvement plans to support student growth. We remain committed to providing programs to help each student reach his or her full potential," said Mandy Savery-Whiteway, Director of Education.
Grade 9 Mathematics
The Grade 9 Mathematics EQAO assessment is administered once per semester and is differentiated based on the curriculum expectations of each math course. The results are combined from both semesters in the 2012-2013 school year. Results are reported as the percentage of students achieving Level 3 or 4, which is the provincial standard.
Grade 9 Applied and Academic Mathematics
| APPLIED |
Students demonstrated a 4 percentage point growth rate, moving from 51% to 55% The provincial results remained unchanged at 44%. |
| ACADEMIC |
Students demonstrated a 4 percentage point increase, moving from 82% to 86%. The provincial results remained unchanged at 84%. |
Grade 10 Literacy Test
The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, written by students in Grade 10, is administered once per year in the spring. Results represent the percentage of students who were successful in passing the assessment. Students from all English pathways (e.g., Academic, Applied and Locally Developed) take the same test, as it is a literacy competency assessment, not a course-specific assessment.
Results indicate that 75% of first-time participating HPEDSB students were successful, as compared to the provincial average of 82%. This represents a 3 percentage point decrease in HPEDSB results compared to last year, and unchanged for the province.
"Some students were close to being successful on the test. Getting there is within their reach. Knowing where they struggled will help us to improve their skills," said Cathy Portt, Superintendent of Education - Curriculum Services.
In order to more fully understand these results, staff will be examining the data as it relates to student pathways (e.g. Academic, Applied and Locally Developed), gender and special education needs. The data will then be used by school improvement teams for classroom instruction purposes across all subject areas.
"We know that we have some important work ahead of us as teachers engage in collaborative professional learning to apply research based instructional practices to improve student literacy results," concluded Portt.
For more information, please contact:
Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, 613-966-1170 or 1 800 267-4350, extension 2354, [email protected]