The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) has released the results of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy test (OSSLT) written by Ontario students in March. A total of 2,130 first time students in the Grand Erie District School Board wrote the literacy test this year and 78 per cent met the standards for reading and writing that The Ontario Curriculum expects them to have acquired by the end of grade 9. The provincial average is 84 per cent.

“We are pleased to see the improvements made in many of our schools this year and also to see that as a Board we continue to improve.  Over the next few months we will review all of our school results to analyze the data and address any issues that may be identified.  Grand Erie remains committed to improving Literacy results across the system and to supporting all of our students,” said Brenda Blancher, Superintendent of Program.

Key observations:

• 78 per cent of students who wrote the test for the first time were successful and received the literacy credential. Last year, 77 per cent were successful,
• 47 per cent of the students who were writing the test for a second or third time were successful and received the literacy credential. Last year, 48 per cent were successful,
• Many students achieve the literacy diploma requirement through the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course, offered to students who have been unsuccessful and who will benefit from the interventions presented in the curriculum of this course,
• Eight schools showed improvement among first time writers.

Students in all publicly funded schools in Ontario, including 16 schools in Grand Erie, wrote this year’s test, which is one of 32 requirements for students working toward an Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

First Time Eligible Students

This table presents information on student performance on the 2007 and 2008 administration of the OSSLT. 

Please note, the results for Sprucedale, GELA and Tollgate are not shown due to confidentiality reporting rules in individual school results, but are part of the overall GEDSB results. For provincial results, please visit the EQAO website at www.eqao.com.