Limestone Board EQOA results Show Success & failure

Jeff Green | Sep 20, 2012

The Limestone District School Board announced last week that grade 3, grade 6, and grade 9 standardised test results have shown a marked improvement this year.

Under the heading “Students show progress in math and language skills” the board announced that while the percentage of grade 3 students attaining the provincial standard in Reading and Math was down by 1% this year (to 60% and 62% respectively), results for Writing were up by 4% to 70%.

The grade 6 results showed an improvement of 4% in Reading (to 74%), 2% in Writing (to 70%), and 6% in Math (to 54%)

Further, the board said that the trends over the last five years are generally up by as much as 10% in most categories/

Grades 3 and 6 Limestone students lag behind the provincial average in all categories, however. The percentage of Grade 6 students achieving the reading standard was 1% below the provincial average; writing scores were 4% lower; and math scores also were 4% lower.

Among grade 3 students, the number of Limestone students reaching the provincial standard is 6% lower than the provincial average in all three disciplines, Reading, Writing, and Math.

There is also quite a discrepancy between different schools in the board. While numbers are not published for schools with small student populations, the results for Harrowsmith Public School, which were well above the provincial average in 2010-11, by as much as 30% points in some cases, tumbled in 2011-12. Grade 3 reading results now lag behind the board and provincial average, while the writing and math results remain slightly above the provincial average. The grade 6 results show Harrowsmith students exceeding the provincial average in reading and writing, while they are below the provincial and board average in math. Results at Loughborough Public School show grade 3 reading levels exceeding the provincial average by 9%, while the writing and math results are higher than the board average but lower than the provincial average.

The grade 6 reading result, at 81%, is well above the provincial and board averages, as are the writing and math results.

The results at Prince Charles School in Verona saw improvement in 2011-2012 in some areas, but they remain well below the board and provincial average in all categories.

The results at North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne were similar to those at Prince Charles - some significant improvement but still a major lag behind the board and provincial averages.

In the grade 9 math testing, Sydenham High School students, with 67% of applied students and 88% of academic students meeting or exceeding the standard, stand comfortably above the provincial average.

Not so for Sharbot Lake High School, where only 50% of academic students met the provincial standard (the provincial average is 84%) a drop of 35% from last year, when 85% of grade 9 Sharbot Lake academic students attained the standard. The applied results for SLHS were not released because the sample size is too small.

At North Addington Education Centre, none of the results were provided because the sample is too small.

Parents will receive individual student results in the coming weeks.