If you have children or grandchildren at school you have most likely heard of EQAO testing.
The EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) is an independent agency that creates and administers large-scale assessments to measure Ontario students’ achievement in reading, writing and math at key stages of their education. The tests are written in the following grades:
- Grade 3, Primary Division (reading, writing and math)
- Grade 6, Junior Division (reading, writing and math)
- Grade 9 Math
- Grade 10, Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
Data from EQAO is a key component in helping school board’s see the larger picture, which includes report card data, classroom assessments, along with teacher and student perceptual data. These findings are collectively used to tell us how we’re doing at the Board, school and classroom level.
Today, the Provincial and local EQAO results for all key assessment stages have been released and Avon Maitland’s staff have begun analyzing the data.
Avon Maitland Results At-a-Glance:
Grade 3 (Primary) and Grade 6 (Junior)
The Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics focuses on the skills that students are expected to have learned by the end of Grade 3 and Grade 6. Students write this test during a two-week testing window in May/June each year.
The Avon Maitland District School Board continues to keep pace with provincial gains in literacy in both the Primary and Junior Assessments of Reading and Writing (EQAO). Over the past five years, the AMDSB scores in Junior (Grade 6) Reading have steadily improved. Our Primary students continued on their upward trajectory in Reading, with 70% of our students meeting or exceeding the provincial standard in Reading, a 5-point gain over the previous test score. Writing scores dipped slightly, with 70% of students meeting or exceeding the provincial standard.
Avon Maitland’s Elementary Schools Keeping Pace with Provincial Growth in Literacy
Avon Maitland’s achievement in Mathematics in both the Primary and Junior Divisions mirror the provincial trend. Primary Mathematics has increased slightly to 65%, up 2 percentage points from the previous testing year, while junior scores declined 3 points to 46%. Primary and Junior Mathematics, both provincially and locally, are now a higher priority in improvement planning at the provincial, board and school levels.
Grade 9 Math
The Grade 9 Assessments of Mathematics tests the math skills students are expected to have learned by the end of Grade 9. Different versions of the test are administered in the academic and the applied math courses. Students in first-semester math courses take the test during a two-week testing window in January; students in second-semester or full-year math courses take the test during a two-week testing window in June.
Provincial results are as follows: 45% of students in the applied math course met the provincial standard, a drop of 2 percentage points from 2015; and 83% of students in the academic math course met the provincial standard, a drop of 2 percentage points from 2015.
Avon Maitland District School Board applied and academic scores followed this trend as well. Of the students taking applied mathematics, 48% successfully met the provincial standard. Of the students taking academic mathematics, 82% successfully met the provincial standard. The five-year trend data is as follows:
Applied 3 year rolling average
2011-2014 – 55%
2012-2015 – 56%
2013-2016 – 55%
Academic 3 year rolling average
2011-2014 – 87%
2012-2015 – 87%
2013-2016 – 85%
Grade 10, Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
The OSSLT is a provincial test that measures whether or not students are meeting the minimum standard for literacy across all subjects up to the end of Grade 9. Successful completion of the literacy test is one of the requirements to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
74% of Avon Maitland students were successful in this latest round of OSSLT
Used in conjunction with other data sources (e.g., report card data, classroom assessments, teacher and student perceptual data, etc.), data from the OSSLT is a key component in seeing the ‘big picture’ of how our system, our schools and our students are doing.
“In response to our OSSLT results, there will be a renewed emphasis on literacy achievement in our secondary schools,” says Superintendent of Program Jane Morris. “Schools will be developing literacy plans that identify areas of weakness and needs and set a course in support of individuals and student sub-groups.”
Historically, students across the province write the OSSLT on the same date, usually in late March each year. This year, however, students have the additional option of taking the OSSLT in an online environment on October 20.
”We are excited that our students will be given this additional opportunity to demonstrate their language skills this year,” says director Ted Doherty. “The ability to complete the test online will be a welcome change for many of our students as well.”
Next Steps
Annually the review of EQAO data by Avon Maitland staff ultimately results in adjustments to the Board’s improvement plan, sheds light on individual student needs and steers the course for staff meetings and professional development days as schools further refine student achievement plans.
The review process on a Board level has begun and will continue in depth alongside school leaders on the PD day this Friday (September 23, 2016).
For a more in depth look at the EQAO results please visit the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) website.