Ontario students math, literacy scores stable or up slightly: EQAO

Ontario students’ math and literacy scores have remained at or slightly above those reported last year.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) released its annual standardized testing results from last spring on Thursday morning.

This round of testing is the second since EQAO went fully online to adapt to the changing landscape of digital learning.

The agency says that among Grade 3 students, 60 per cent met the provincial standards for math, up one per cent from the previous year. Reading and writing results within the cohort remain unchanged.

READ MORE: Ontario high school teachers approve new deal to avoid strikes

For Grade 6 students, 50 per cent met provincial standards in math, up from 47 per cent the last school year, while reading and writing rose one percentage point to 85 per cent.

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) shows that within high schools a gap between the scores of those enrolled in academic and applied courses continues to be an area requiring further attention to close.

“After two-years of our new digital assessment program following the pandemic-related disruptions to the school system, it is encouraging to see progress in mathematics achievement while reading and writing achievement remains stable across the province.” says Dan Koenig, Chief Executive Officer of EQAO.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce is attributing the slight increases to the government’s “back to basics” approach to education.

Part of this approach, Lecce says, was the introduction of new math supports, including math coaches, a new “math lead” role in every board and “math action teams” that work alongside schools with lower scores.

WATCH MORE: Counter-rallies take place amid Canada-wide protests against gender identity education