EQAO: Rainbow Schools record some of the best results ever

Reading, writing and math assessments administered by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) in Rainbow Schools continue to show gains over time, with some significant year over year improvements.

In the 2010-2011 school year, Grade 3 reading increased by three percentage points to 60%, the highest score ever. Grade 9 math increased by five percentage points to 83% at the academic level and four percentage points to 40% at the applied level, also the best ever for Rainbow Schools.

“Rainbow District School Board’s scores over the past five years are following the provincial trend,” said Director of Education Norm Blaseg. “The results show that Grades 3 and 6 students have made notable gains in both reading and writing. Grade 9 students have made notable gains in math.”

Grade 9 math results at the academic level increased by 23 percentage points over the past five years. Grade 9 math results at the applied level increased by 9 percentage points over the past five years.

EQAO results are an important tool for assisting schools and boards in identifying areas for continuous improvement. They provide a measure of how well students understand the expectations outlined in The Ontario Curriculum. Student assessment is most effective when data is interpreted in context, examined over time to determine trends in performance, and used to inform professional dialogue and school improvement planning.

Director Blaseg thanked educators for their ongoing efforts and congratulated students on their achievement. He added: “Assessment results are used to enhance student learning. The data helps us determine areas of focus in literacy and numeracy for school and board improvement planning by answering two important questions: How are we doing? and What can we do next to improve student learning? As always, we will build on our efforts.”

Learning Cycles, Demonstration Teachers and Framework Schools are three of a number of strategies having a positive impact on student success. In Learning Cycles, teachers work in teams to focus on the needs of their students.  Special attention is placed on assessment for learning and differentiated instruction strategies.

Demonstration Teachers enable teachers to learn from each other, one of the most effective ways of influencing student learning.  Teachers visit junior and intermediate demonstration classrooms to observe literacy, assessment for learning and differentiated instruction strategies.  Visiting teachers spend time planning strategies for their own classes with the demonstration teachers.

Framework Schools, meanwhile, receive additional support for literacy and numeracy instruction. During the 2010-2011 school year, teachers at nine elementary schools and three secondary schools received release time to work with a Consultant or Co-ordinator. A team of principals, superintendents and federation representatives visited these schools in the fall and spring to provide ongoing feedback and support.

Grade 3 and Grade 6 reading, writing and mathematics tests were written in early June 2010.  There were 819 students in Grade 3 in Rainbow Schools. There were 956 students in Grade 6 in Rainbow Schools. Very few students were exempt from the assessments.

The Grade 9 mathematics test was administered in January and June 2011. A total of 1,054 students participated in the assessment, including 676 students in academic math and 378 students in applied math.

The Ministry of Education has set level 3 as the provincial standard.  Students in Level 4 have demonstrated a very high to outstanding level of achievement (80% to 100%). Achievement is above the provincial standard.  Students in Level 3 have demonstrated a high level of achievement (70% to 79%).

Copies of EQAO results are available at www.eqao.com.

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EQAO assessment results are reported in two ways – “All Students” and “Participating Students”. The “All Students” method reports results that are based on all students registered in the program.  The “Participating Students” method excludes students in the “exempt” and “no data” categories of the assessment.

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Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,
Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,
Rainbow District School Board, 705.674.3171, ext. 7217.