EQAO results for Grand Erie Grade 3, 6 and 9 students
The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) has released the results of the Grade 3 and Grade 6 Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics which were administered from May 26 - June 6, 2008 and results for Grand Erie students show slight improvements when compared to the previous year.
In addition, EQAO has released the results of the 2008 Grade 9 Assessments of Mathematics for students registered in Applied Mathematics or Academic Mathematics. These assessments were held in January and June of the 2007-2008 school year. This assessment provides a view of student achievement on the expectations up to the end of Grade 9 Applied or Academic Mathematics. Compared to the previous year, Grand Erie’s results in Applied Mathematics are lower, while achievement in Academic Mathematics is higher.
EQAO reports data using two methods, “All Students” and “Participating Students”.
“All Students” data is reported as a percentage for all students in the grade
“Participating Students” data is reported as a percentage of those students who took part in the full assessment. Students who were away from school for medical or other reasons, those who were exempt from participation and those whose work did not provide enough information are excluded from this data.
Key Observations of Participating Grade 3, 6 and 9 Students:
- In Grade 3, 55 per cent of participating students achieved levels 3 or 4 in Reading, 60 per cent in Writing and 59 Percent in Mathematics.
- In Grade 6, 63 per cent of participating students achieved levels 3 or 4 in Reading, 61 per cent in Writing and 55 Percent in Mathematics.
- In Grade 9 Academic Mathematics, 73 per cent of participating students achieved levels 3 or 4
- In Grade 9 Applied Mathematics, 37 per cent of participating students achieved levels 3 or 4
Key Observations of All Grade 3, 6 and 9 Students:
- In Grade 3, 53 per cent of all students achieved levels 3 or 4 in Reading, 58 per cent in Writing and 57 Percent in Mathematics.
- In Grade 6, 61 per cent of all students achieved levels 3 or 4 in Reading, 58 per cent in Writing and 53 Percent in Mathematics.
- In Grade 9 Academic Mathematics, 72 percent of students achieved levels 3 or 4
- In Grade 9 Applied Mathematics, 33 per cent of participating students achieved levels 3 or 4
“We have seen significant gains in student achievement over time, and are very pleased with the progress seen in this year’s Grade 6 results. While our overall results this year parallel provincial results, we continue to see some of the schools make significant improvements. In the past year we have implemented many high yield strategies in our schools; we know with further time and effort these strategies will reap continued benefits. Our focus for the 2008-2009 school year will be to ‘stay the course’ using a number of high yield strategies,” said Brenda Blancher, Superintendent of Program.
Grade 3 and 6 strategies include:
- specialist instructional coaches assigned to support teachers in all schools
- teacher participation at every elementary school in Professional Learning Communities
- teacher participation in Networked (multi-school) Professional Learning Communities
- implementation of the Grand Erie District School Board’s Literacy profile
- full implementation of system standards for assessment
- continued tracking of student progress using the Board’s electronic Student Data Warehouse
- using data to inform teaching practice
- literacy rooms in every school
- minimum 100 minutes literacy blocks in the primary and junior divisions
- ensuring Literacy and Numeracy success remains at the center of all professional development and training
Grade 9 Math strategies include:
- Detailed analysis of school and item reports to determine specific strengths and areas for improvement
- Networked Professional Learning Communities for Mathematics Department Heads and Assistant heads
- Cross-panel (grade 7 – 10) support for teaching and learning strategies in math
- Continued support for Ontario’s Leading Math Success initiative and TIPS 4 RM(Revised Math) documents
EQAO test results help schools identify areas in need of attention to improve student achievement. They also serve as a basis for the board, schools, teachers and students to discuss ways to improve literacy and numeracy.
Assessments directly measure the expectations set out in The Ontario Curriculum. EQAO assessment is developed by Ontario teachers, and all aspects of EQAO’s assessment programs are reviewed and validated by experts in the field of large-scale assessment.