Staff
Local students scored below the provincial average in most instances when it comes to reading, writing, and mathematics—according to the 2012-13 Education Quality and Accountability Office results for the elementary level released yesterday.
The assessments—written by students in Grades 3 and 6 in all three areas—also showed a decrease in some results compared to the previous year.
In 2012-13, 179 Grade 3 students in the Rainy River District School Board wrote the primary assessments while 128 students with the Northwest Catholic District School Board took part.
Combining the results for Levels 3 and 4 in reading indicates the public board had 55 percent of Grade 3 students achieving at or above the provincial level of achievement.
The Catholic board had 64 percent of students at that level.
The provincial average was 68 percent.
In writing, the RRDSB saw 59 percent of its Grade 3 students achieving at or above the provincial level while the Catholic board had 70 percent—both below the provincial average of 77 percent.
And in mathematics, the RRDSB saw just 51 percent of its Grade 3 students achieving at or above the provincial level while the Catholic board had 58 percent.
Again, both scores were below the provincial average of 67 percent.
For the junior assessments, 190 Grade 6 students with the public board completed the EQAO tests while 125 participated from the Catholic board.
The results indicated the RRDSB has 68 percent of its Grade 6 students in reading achieving at or above the provincial level of achievement.
The Catholic board had a percentage of 74 students at that level.
The provincial average was 77 percent.
In writing, the RRDSB saw 68 percent of its Grade 6 students achieving at or above the provincial level while the Catholic board had 63 percent—below the provincial average of 76 percent.
And in mathematics, the RRDSB saw just 48 percent of its Grade 6 students achieving at or above the provincial level while the Catholic board had 62 percent.
With the provincial average at 57 percent, the Catholic board was above it in this area only.
Both school boards are aware math needs to be a priority. And instead of comparing the results with those of the province, they tend to focus on the results over time.
“I always feel that there’s more work to be done,” said Heather Campbell, director of education for the RRDSB.
“And I recognize that this is just one assessment, and we do compare it to our in-house assessments and we use this as one of the many measures to see how we’re doing.
“But we do always want to see all our students be success,” she added.
“There’s always room for improvement.”
