Ontario students within local French language schools received their 2023-2024 Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) mathematics and languages scores, alongside the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) results on September 26. Unfortunately, the results demonstrate a strong need to reinforce mathematical skills at all levels.
More than 570,000 students had written the examinations at both the elementary and secondary levels within French and English school boards. Results also included numbers from both public and Catholic school boards. The averages across Ontario highlight some key areas needed for student improvement in their reading, writing, and mathematical skills.
Provincial numbers for students meeting or exceeding Grade 3 Ontario standards sit at 73.7 per cent for mathematics, 83.9 per cent in reading, and 67.3 per cent in writing for French school board students. Statistics oscillated within the provincial results for Grade 6 where mathematics rose to 58 per cent, reading increased slightly to 97.4 per cent, and writing decreased to 79 per cent. Grade 9 mathematics improved slightly to 60.8 per cent overall in the province.
91.7 per cent of students were successful in passing the OSSLT, a slim increase from 2022-2023 numbers.
Although student statistics are generally better than their Anglophone counterparts, work still needs to be done to improve key mathematical, reading, and writing skills.
“The additional support that year-to-year data provide to parents and guardians, educators and policy-makers can lead to the development of effective plans of action that will assist every child and youth on their education journey and prepare for successful outcomes for all,” Chief Executive Officer of the EQAO Dan Koenig said in a September 26 press release.
Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO)
Students under the CEPEO demonstrated overall improvements since the last EQAO tests in 2022-2023, with some noticeable exceptions.
École élémentaire publique Nouvel-Horizon Grade 3 students scored a 63.2 per cent success rate in mathematics, an increase from 43.2 last year. Reading skills improved dramatically from 70.3 per cent in 2022-2023 to 92.1 today. Students also showed improvements in writing, up from 56.8 per cent to 76.3.
Pupils of Nouvel-Horizon’s Grade 6 classes sadly did not score as well as their younger students. Mathematics dropped a fair bit to 34.8 per cent from 43.9, reading was stable at 95.6 per cent from 95.1, and writing decreased to 66.7 per cent from 80.5.
Scores from École élémentaire publique Terre des Jeunes Grade 3 students rose overall in mathematics from 75 per cent in 2022-2023 to 82.4 per cent in 2023-2024. Writing results sat at 58.8 per cent up from 50, and reading skills were also shown to have improved by increasing to 94.1 per cent up from 83.3.
Grade 6 student results from École élémentaire publique Terre des Jeunes were not available for 2022-2023, however, scores for the current school year included mathematics at 60 per cent, reading at 100, and writing at an average of 70.
Lastly, École secondaire publique le Sommet students scored significant increases in both Grade 9 mathematics and the OSSLT from the previous school year. Mathematics improved to 59.7 per cent, up from 39.5, and the OSSLT success rate increased to 97.7 per cent from 88.5.
Conseil de district catholique de l’Est ontarien (CSDCEO)
The CSDCEO demonstrated mixed results overall in student scores at all levels. Mathematics scores for Grade 3 students increased to 73.1 per cent from 69.8 the previous year, reading from 82.9 to 83.1 per cent, and writing dropped from 63.3 to 59.7 per cent. Grade 6 mathematics scores rose a bit to 52 per cent from 49.3 the previous year, reading from 96.4 to 97.8 per cent, and writing down from 82 to 78.7 per cent. Grade 9 mathematics decreased to 53.2 per cent, previously held at 59.4. OSSLT success rates remained unchanged from the 2022-2023 school year at 93.6 per cent.
Local statistics for 2023-2024 École élémentaire catholique Elda-Rouleau students were split, with both improvements and regressions being reported. Grade 3 students continued struggling with mathematics, dropping to 56.7 per cent from 58.8. On a positive note, reading and writing skills showed relative improvements with reading increasing to 73.3 per cent from 58.8 and writing increasing from 47.1 per cent to 53.3.
Grade 6 students from École élémentaire catholique Elda-Rouleau witnessed significant drops in mathematics comprehension, now at 51.7 per cent from 70.8 in 2022-2023, and writing, now sitting at 62.1 per cent from 75 the previous year. Reading scores, however, increased to 96.6 per cent from 95.8.
École élémentaire catholique Paul VI student results were in an overall decline for the 2023-2024 year. Grade 3 pupils demonstrated drops across the tested subjects, with mathematics declining to 27.8 per cent from 45, reading to 55.6 per cent from 60, and writing to 38.9 per cent from 50.
Paul VI students in Grade 6 also showed declines in comprehension in all subjects. Mathematics dropped to 34.8 per cent from 38.9, reading from 100 per cent to 95.7, and writing from 88.9 per cent to 60.9.
École élémentaire catholique Saint-Grégoire students also showed a decline at the Grade 3 level. Mathematics understanding dropped to 63.7 per cent from 93.3, reading to 77.3 per cent from 100, and writing to 63.6 per cent from 100. Grade 6 scores were not available for 2023-2024, however, 2022-2023 scores were 38.1 per cent in mathematics, 100 in reading, and 80 in writing.
Students part of the Grade 3 cohort at École élémentaire catholique Saint-Paul witnessed improved comprehension across mathematics, up to 57.1 per cent from 46.2, reading at 95.2 per cent from 76.9, and writing at 47.6 per cent from 46.2 in the previous school year. Grade 6 students experienced the opposite, with a decline in mathematics understanding to 33.3 per cent from 39.1, reading staying level at an impressive 100 per cent, and writing declining a bit to 71.4 per cent from 76.2.
Grade 3 students from École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-Baptiste saw a decrease in mathematics scores to 73.9 per cent from 74.2 and a slight dip in reading from 87.1 per cent to 87. Grade 3 writing scores did jump significantly to 78.3 per cent up from 67.7 in 2022-2023. Students in Grade 6 scored improvements in both mathematics at 96.2 per cent from 86.2 and writing, from 89.7 per cent to 96.2. Reading scores were maintained at 100 per cent from last year.
The Grade 9 classes from the three French Catholic high schools also demonstrated mixed results.
École secondaire catholique regionale de Hawkesbury saw the biggest change from 2022-2023’s mathematics scores in Grade 9, with an improvement to 62.5 per cent from 51.4. OSSLT results dipped a little to 97.3 per cent from 97.5 and do not warrant any significant alarm.
École secondaire catholique de Plantagenet comprehension in Grade 9 mathematics dropped to 47.2 per cent from 54 the previous school year. OSSLT scores rose slightly to 95.6 per cent from 94.2.
Finally, École secondaire catholique le Relais in Alexandria also demonstrated a drop in mathematics understanding, falling to 40.1 per cent from 55.9 in 2022-2023. OSSLT scores did improve to 90.7 per cent, up from 88.1.
More detailed information can be found through the EQAO assessment data tool on their website, https://www.eqao.com/results/, which allows users to select their school or wider school board to view current and past results.
