EQAO results: Steady improvements over time in Rainbow Schools

In Rainbow Schools, reading, writing and math assessments administered by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) in the 2008-2009 school year continue to show improvement over time. The most significant increase was in Grade 9 mathematics where three percent more students achieved at or above the provincial standard at both academic and applied levels.

Once again, the secondary panel recorded impressive gains over time. Over the past nine years, an increase of 17 per cent of students achieved at or above the provincial standard in Grade 9 math at the academic level. An increase of 16 per cent of students achieved at or above the provincial standard in Grade 9 math at the applied level.

In the elementary panel, an increase of 7 per cent of Grade 3 students achieved at or above the provincial standard in reading and an increase of 16 per cent of Grade 3 students achieved at or above the provincial standard in writing since 2002. Over the same time period, there has been an increase of 10 per cent of Grade 3 students achieving at or above the provincial standard in math.

Gains have also been made in Grade 6 reading, writing and math over time, with an increase of students achieving at or above the provincial standard of 11 per cent in reading, 15 per cent in writing and 3 per cent in math, since 2002. While Grade 3 reading and writing results dipped in 2009, math results recorded a gain. In Grade 6, reading increased by three percentage points, writing results remained stable, and math results recorded a slight decrease.

Rainbow District School Board Director of Education Jean Hanson thanked classroom teachers and instructional leaders for their ongoing efforts and commended parents/guardians and the broader school communities for supporting student success. Rainbow District School Board will continue to use EQAO data to develop strategies to support student success, and use assessment to track progress and inform instructional decision-making.

“Again, we commend our secondary teachers for raising the bar and closing the gap in student achievement in Grade 9 math at both the academic and applied levels,” said Director Hanson. Building on these efforts, Rainbow District School Board will continue to support the work of mathematics teachers in each of its secondary schools, provide resources to teachers to engage all students and all learning styles, and promote mathematics in real-life applications, making learning relevant.

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.

“Assessment results are used to enhance student learning,” said Director Hanson. “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? We are currently examining the EQAO results in the context of our Board Improvement Plan and our School Improvement Plans.”

Grade 3 and Grade 6 Reading, Writing and Mathematics tests were written at the end of May 2009.  There were 905 students in Grade 3 in Rainbow Schools. There were 1,025 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 2009. A total of 1,258 students participated in the assessment, including 753 students in Academic Math and 505 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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Primary Division (Grades 1 to 3) Reading, Writing and Mathematics


2008-2009 Assessment Results


Percentage at Levels 3 or 4

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RDSB Results from 2002-2009


Percentage at Levels 3 or 4


Shows steady improvements in academic achievement over time

   
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Junior Division (Grades 4 to 6) Reading, Writing and Mathematics

2008-2009 Assessment Results

Percentage at Levels 3 or 4

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RDSB Results from 2002-2009

Percentage at Levels 3 or 4

Shows steady improvements in academic achievement over time

Grade 9 Mathematics

2008-2009 Assessment Results

Percentage at Levels 3 or 4 – Academic

All students RDSB

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Grade 9 Mathematics

2008-2009 Assessment Results

Percentage at Levels 3 or 4 – Applied

All students RDSB

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.