TLDSB EQAO results mostly sit below the provincial average, but there were some improvements

DAN CEARNS, The Standard

KAWARTHA LAKES: The Trillium Lakelands District School Board’s (TLDSB) recent Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) test results sit below the Ontario provincial average.

At a board meeting, on Tuesday, December 6th, trustees were presented with the 2021/2022 test data, by a few of their Superintendents.

Board-wide, the TLDSB saw their Grade 3 Reading grade average at 69.9 percent, while the provincial average was 73.2 percent. The Grade 3 Writing average was 57.4 percent, and the Math average was 56.2 percent. The provincial averages for these were 64.9 percent for writing and 59 percent for Math.

The TLDSB Grade 6 results were 78.4 percent for Reading, 75.2 percent for Writing and 40.4 percent for Math. Provincial averages for the Grade 6 results were 84.9 percent for Reading, 84.1 percent for Writing and 47.2 percent for Math.

“Although we want to see these [results] higher, we must also understand there have been three years of [school] disruptions, and we have not sustained a significant drop in achievement,” Superintendent Jay MacJanet stressed to trustees.

However, there was also some positive news from the results.

“Students with special needs at TLDSB are achieving at levels which compare quite closely to the provincial results,” Superintendent Jennifer Johnston stated, pointing to the Grade 3 results in this category.

Specifically, the Grade 3 students with special needs were outperforming the provincial average in the Reading and Math categories.

“We had a four percent increase in Grade 3 Reading and a three percent increase in Grade 6 [Reading], which is a point for celebration,” Superintendent Johnston added, in the Students with Special Needs category.

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) results for Grade 10 students were also below the provincial average, coming in at 78.4 percent, while the provincial average was 82.1 percent. However, this was an eight percent increase for the board from the last time this test was administered.