Recently released standardized testing results show that Huron-Perth Catholic District school board students were ahead of the provincial standard in all but two categories – Grade 6 math and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test.
Recently released standardized testing results show that Huron-Perth Catholic District school board students were ahead of the provincial standard in all but two categories – Grade 6 math and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test.
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The local results from these Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) tests, which help assess how well Ontario students are doing in reading, writing and math at key points in their education, are a reason to celebrate, said the board’s director of education, Chris Roehrig.
“We’re really excited by, in particular, our elementary results,” Roehrig said. “It’s shown that our focus achievement is starting to pay off. Even during the pandemic, we didn’t take our eye off the ball in terms of achievement, and I think that the results are showing that. At the same time, we recognize there’s work to do.”
The EQAO tests are separated into four levels, with levels 1 and 2 indicating below the provincial standard. Level 3 is this provincial standard while a level 4 result means a student has exceeded that standard. The tests rank how the students are doing in reading, writing and math.
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In Grade 3, Huron-Perth Catholic District school board (HPCDSB) students achieved or surpassed the provincial standards in all three categories. In reading, 77.6 per cent of local students met or were better than the standard, compared to 71.3 per cent of Ontario students. In writing, they were five per cent better – achieving a 68 per cent mark – while, in math, 67.4 per cent of HPCDSB students met or beat the standard, compared to 61.3 per cent of Ontario students overall.
Local Grade 6 students also fared better in two of the three categories, with 87.6 per cent reaching levels three and four in reading and 83.3 per cent doing so in writing. However, they did lag behind the province in math, with just 46.4 per cent meeting or exceeding the standard as compared to 50.2 per cent of Ontario students.
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That result in particular shows the board has some work to do in the grades 7-10 division, Roehrig said.
“We think the results are good, but we do recognize that, in the intermediate division, we need to sharpen our pencil a little bit,” he said.
Roehrig also noted that math has always been one of the most difficult subject for students during his time working in education.
The board did, however, experience some fluctuation since the province made changes to the format of the EQAO tests at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. For example, in Grade 6 math, the number of students who meet or exceed the standard was two per cent higher than 2022, but two per cent lower than 2023. The reading levels for that grade were the same for this year and 2022, which is seven per cent higher than 2023. For Grade 3, the largest shift across all categories was four percentage points.
Minor fluctuations are expected from year to year, Roehrig said.
“Each cohort is different, and every testing year is different, and actually (the tests) are different every year too in all of those areas. We want to look at the results longitudinally,” he said.
The achievement data, along with the detailed data from each student and the school level, help inform next steps for the board, Roehrig said.
“We go over all of the results for all of those tests very carefully to find out where we need to improve,” he said.
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