Attention: News editors, education reporters
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Continued Growth for Ontario Students in Critical Reading, Writing and Math Skills
Province-wide testing contributing to improved student achievement
TORONTO, August 31, 2006– The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) today released the highlights of the 2005–2006 Grades 3, 6 and 9 provincial-level results in reading, writing and mathematics as schools across Ontario prepare to open their doors.
EQAO results show student achievement continues to improve. More Grade 3 and Grade 6 students are at or above the provincial standard. In Grade 9, students in the academic mathematics program improved their achievement by three percentage points while students in the applied program increased by eight percentage points. Grade 3 reading results show that success rates have increased by twelve percentage points over the past five years.
Students, parents, teachers, principals and school boards will benefit from today’s release of province-wide testing results as students will soon be returning to classrooms and educators will be focusing on efforts to further improve student learning.
"The timing of this release will help assist with back-to-school discussions about goal setting and student achievement in schools across Ontario," says EQAO chair, Charles Pascal. "As EQAO celebrates its 10th anniversary, a culture of using data as a decision-making tool has taken root across the province. All partners in Ontario’s public education system are now using EQAO data to monitor and improve student learning. Teachers are obviously key to this increased student success."
EQAO has seen continued growth in student achievement in all assessments since provincial tests were first introduced.
"Our 2004 review of EQAO programs confirmed that school communities need EQAO data in a timely manner to support their school planning activities," says Marguerite Jackson, EQAO chief executive officer. "In response to this feedback, EQAO committed to reporting results to schools by the end of August, and we’re pleased we’ve been able to achieve this goal. EQAO tests provide a reliable indication of student achievement in literacy and numeracy according to the expectations of The Ontario Curriculum."
Students wrote the tests in the 2005–2006 school year in Grades 3, 6 and 9 in all publicly funded schools in Ontario.
In Grades 3 and 6, this year’s results continued the pattern of the previous year’s improvements, with gains in all three subjects. Compared with results from the previous year, the percentage of Grade 3 students who performed at or above the provincial standard
The percentage of Grade 6 students who performed at or above the provincial standard
This year in Grade 9 math, 71% of students in the academic program performed at or above the provincial standard. Students in the applied program also improved their results, with 35% reaching the provincial standard or surpassing it.
EQAO is releasing the highlights of the provincial-level results today, to be followed on September 13 with the full Provincial Report, 2005–2006 for Grades 3, 6 and 9, including subgroup and contextual data, a summary of findings and strategies for learning. In addition, detailed school and board reports that include provincial results, along with successful school stories and video commentaries, will also be publicly released on September 13. School and school-board results are embargoed until September 13.
The information is posted on EQAO’s Web site, www.eqao.com, as it is released to the public.
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About EQAO
The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is a catalyst for increasing the success of Ontario students by measuring their achievement in reading, writing and mathematics against a common curriculum benchmark. As an independent provincial agency, EQAO plays a pivotal role by conducting province-wide tests at key points in every student’s primary, junior and secondary education and reporting the results. The objective and reliable facts obtained add to the current knowledge about student learning and are an important tool for improvement at the individual, school and provincial level.
The English-language assessments were written in the 2005–2006 school year by
Literacy and Numeracy: Building Blocks for Success
Literacy and numeracy skills have been identified as fundamental building blocks for success in school and in life.
Although the EQAO tests measure proficiency in these areas in Grade 3, Grade 6 and Grade 9, they are priorities throughout a child’s education, involving every teacher, every parent and every student, beginning when he or she enters school.
Schools use results of provincial tests to help develop action plans. They know that improving students’ foundational skills is a shared responsibility. Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, EQAO terminology will change to recognize that fact. The Grade 3 test will be re-named the "Primary" assessment and the Grade 6 test will be called the "Junior" assessment. These name changes will better reflect the fact that EQAO tests measure the cumulative knowledge and skills students have learned to the end of Grade 3 (Primary Division) and Grade 6 (Junior Division). The new designations emphasize the fact that literacy and numeracy are cross-curricular and school-wide endeavours.
Assessments in Context
The quality of schools should not be judged on EQAO data alone. EQAO results provide a "snapshot" of how students are achieving at one point in time and do not fully represent the richness and depth of multifaceted schools and their students. Every school’s staff has access to many sources of data in addition to EQAO reports. School staff and parents need to take into account the complexities of their school by examining their EQAO results along with all of the other information they have about student achievement, such as report cards, classroom assessments and board assessments.
In addition, contextual factors, such as attendance patterns, absentee rates, mobility rates and special program needs of students, can influence student achievement levels in any school. This is why it is meaningless and misleading to rank schools according to EQAO data. Trends for each school is key not comparisons between schools.
School and Board Information
EQAO provides reports to help school staff use local data and to share it with their communities. These reports, available September 13 on EQAO’s Web site, include
Based on the newest results of EQAO testing, the Provincial Report includes practical strategies for instruction that classroom teachers can use. In addition, each school and board receives reports about their students’ answers to each question on the test. These resources will assist in identifying key areas for improvement.
These schools and school-boards reports are embargoed until September 13.
Understanding Student Results
Students who participated in the assessments last spring will receive an Individual Student Report, which shows the child’s achievement in relation to the provincial standard. As well, the student report provides parents with a summary of school, board and provincial results.
This report indicates how well each child is meeting the curriculum expectations in relation to the provincial standard. The standard has been determined by the Ontario Ministry of Education as Level 3: a high level of achievement of the overall expectations. Parents of students achieving Level 3 in a particular grade can be confident that their children will be prepared for work at the next grade. Level 1 identifies achievement that falls much below the provincial standard, while still reflecting a passing grade. Level 2 identifies achievement that approaches the standard. Level 4 identifies achievement that surpasses the standard.
Individual Student Reports will be in schools between September 18-23 and sent home with students.
Testing the Curriculum
The provincial tests given at the end of Grade 3 and Grade 6 tests are based on The Ontario Curriculum, Grade 1-8 and its expectations of the knowledge and skills students should have acquired at these stages of their schooling.
EQAO assessments measure how well students have met the provincial expectations. For example, Grade 3 and Grade 6 students are assessed in
The Grade 9 math tests are based on The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: Mathematics, revised 2005, and the expectations set for student knowledge and performance by the end of Grade 9.
The purpose of the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics is to assess the level at which students in the applied and academic programs are meeting Grade 9 curriculum expectations in their respective mathematics programs. Grade 9 Academic and Applied students must demonstrate knowledge and skills in the same three areas – number sense and algebra, linear relations, measurement and geometry and Academic students must also show knowledge in analytic geometry.
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