MEDIA RELEASE
Upper Grand District School Board
For Immediate Release
Date: September 15, 2010
EQAO REULTS SHOW AREAS OF PROGRESS AND
THE NEED FOR CONTINUED ATTENTION
Guelph, Ontario: With the release today of preliminary results of the Board’s EQAO
Assessments in primary and junior reading, writing and math, and grade 9 mathematics,
there are areas that show progress is being made as well as the need for continued
system-wide and individual attention that will help to boost students’ achievement.
Primary Assessment
In the primary assessments of grade 3 reading the percentage of students who meet or
exceed the provincial standard – working at levels 3 and 4 – is 64%. The province’s
result is 62%. In writing, 66% of Upper Grand grade 3 students meet the standard,
compared with 70% of students across Ontario. In math, the Upper Grand percentage
is 68, with the province at 71. From 2005 to 2010, Upper Grand students have
increased three percentage points in reading, six percentage points in writing and one
percentage point in math.
Percentage of Students
at Level 3 & 4
Reading
Writing
Mathematics
UGDSB
Ontario
UGDSB
Ontario
UGDSB
Ontario
2005
61
59
60
61
67
66
2006
62
62
60
64
66
68
2007
62
62
63
64
70
69
2008
62
61
62
66
66
68
2009
60
61
67
68
67
70
2010
64
62
66
70
68
71
Primary EQAO
2005- 2010 Results Comparison
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
100
90
80
70
60
61 62 62 62 60
64
63 62
60 60
67 66
67 66
70
68
66 67
50
40
30
20
10
0
Reading
Writing
Math
Both ELL students (English Language Learners) and special needs (not gifted) students
lag behind their classmates in all three areas. Except in math, where they are tied,
primary girls achieve at a higher level than boys.
Junior Assessment
Grade 6 students meeting or exceeding the reading standard this year is 74%, with the
province reaching 72%. Writing results show the board’s students at 69%, compared
with 70% for the province. Math assessments show 59% of students meeting or
exceeding the standard compared with the provincial result of 61%. Over the years
from 2005 to 2010, the board has improved by eight percentage points in reading, 10 in
writing and has dropped three percentage points in math.
Percentage of
Students at Level 3 & 4
Reading
Writing
Mathematics
UGDSB
Ontario
UGDSB
Ontario
UGDSB
Ontario
2005
66
63
59
59
62
60
2006
65
64
60
61
62
61
2007
68
64
61
61
59
59
2008
69
66
67
67
60
61
2009
72
69
66
67
61
63
2010
74
72
69
70
59
61
Junior EQAO
2005 - 2010 Results Comparison
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
100
80
69
66 65 68
72 74
67 65 69
59 60 61
60
62 62
59 60 61 59
40
20
0
Reading
Writing
Math
While Junior girls outperform boys in reading and writing, and math. ELL and special
needs students (not gifted) do not perform as well as the others.
Grade 9 Mathematics Assessment
In Grade 9 math, there are two levels of study, applied and academic. Students in the
academic program are consistently above the province with 86% meeting or exceeding
the standard, compared with the province at 82% In applied math, the province is at
40% while Upper Grand students are at 47%.
The gender gap shows that boys consistently outperform girls in both applied and
academic math. In a survey of these students, more girls indicated that they found
math “boring” than boys. ELL and special needs students (not including gifted students)
scored at 86% and 83% (academic) and at 48% and 38% (applied).
Results by Program of Study – Applied
Results Over Time – Applied
Results by Program of Study – Academic
Results Over Time – Academic
This is the first year that individual student progress can be tracked. This shows how a
child who wrote the primary and junior assessments and the grade 9 math assessment
has fared over their school career. These results also can track students between the
primary and junior assessments.
In all cases, students who met the standards in primary and junior are most likely to
maintain that standard in grade 9. Those that struggle early on are more likely to
continue to struggle in the higher grades. What this tells educators is that if you can
identify struggling students early on support can make a difference. The board now has
data that shows how many students rose to the standard, both between grade 3 and 6
in all areas (reading, writing and math) and between grade 6 and 9 in math.
Based on the data from the most recent test, the Board has identified a number of
strategies that have worked to raise achievement levels and those that will target
specific areas as well as students. With a focus on reading skills in past years,
achievement rates have climbed. A group of schools will begin to focus on math in the
primary and junior grades, as well as writing in some areas. Teacher in-services and
resource materials from the province are helpful in this work.
At the secondary level, there is ongoing attention to math coaching for teachers in the
schools and the use of resource binders and technology to engage students in their
learning, which helps improve achievement.
Special needs students, those for whom English is not the first language spoken at
home and the many students who are just on the edge of moving from level 2 work to
level 3 work are ongoing targets for support.
Additional information and school by school results are posted on the board’s website.
Additional information is also available at the EQAO’s webstie: www.eqao.com.
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For more information:
Maggie McFadzen, Communications Officer, 519-822-4420, ext. 725
Maggie.mcfadzen@ugdsb.on.ca