Guelph-area EQAO student test scores follow provincial trends for the most part

The two school boards that cover the Guelph area continue to see reading, writing and math tests scores that come close to provincial averages.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) released the results of last year’s provincial assessments on Tuesday.

These include results for the Grade 9 math tests, the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, along with reading, writing and math assessments for students in Grades 3 and 6.

Grade 9 applied math results showed a big improvement in the Upper Grand District School Board as 63 per cent of students met or exceeded the provincial standard. That result is an increase of five percentage points over last year.

Meanwhile, 54 per cent of students in the Wellington Catholic School Board‘s Grade 9 applied math course met the provincial standard, which is down slightly from last year, but still well above the provincial average of 45 per cent.

Both school boards had impressive results in the Grade 9 math academic course as 91 per cent of Upper Grand students and 88 per cent of Wellington Catholic students met or surpassed the provincial standard.

Both Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic showed similar literacy test scores that fell in line with the provincial average of 79 per cent of students meeting the standard.

Grades 3 and 6 reading and writing results also fell in line with the rest of the province.

For the second year in a row, Wellington Catholic Grade 3 math results were higher than the provincial average, while Upper Grand’s Grade 3 math results were below the provincial average.

Grade 6 math scores in Upper Grand did not change and were close to the provincial average, while the results in Wellington Catholic fell by seven per cent.

“As the Ministry of Education continues to focus efforts on improving outcomes in mathematics learning and achievement, we too have made this a priority in our professional development planning for the 2018-19 school year,” said Wellington Catholic director of education Tamara Nugent in a statement.