Math ticks up, but still lags
In English-language schools, math scores improved modestly across every grade level tested. Grade 3 students hit 65% meeting the provincial standard, up from 64% the year before. Grade 6 math rose to 52% from 51%, and Grade 9 math climbed to 59% from 58%. French-language schools posted stronger numbers and generally outperformed English-language schools across most categories, including Grade 6 math, which rose to 64% from 63%.
Small as the gains are, EQAO Chair Chris Day said they matter, while also acknowledging the bigger problem. "It shows important progress, especially in literacy," Day said. "It also clearly points to the need to do more across the board in math."
Reading and writing hold steady
Reading results improved slightly at the youngest grade tested, with Grade 3 reading in English-language schools rising to 75% from 74%. Grade 6 reading and writing stayed flat at 86% and 85% respectively, unchanged from last year. The Grade 10 literacy test, known as the OSSLT, saw 86% of first-time eligible students pass, up one percentage point from the previous cycle.
What officials are saying
Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra called the results encouraging but incomplete. "These results are encouraging, but they also make clear that there is more work to do," Calandra said. "Too many students continue to struggle, achievement gaps persist and results remain uneven across the province."
Exemptions under review
Calandra also pointed to a less positive trend buried in this year's data: a significant increase in the number of students exempted from EQAO testing at some school boards. He said the ministry is now investigating what's driving that increase, a detail that could affect how comparable this year's results are to previous years once the causes are understood.
What led here
The release lands the same week Ottawa has been watching two other provincial fiscal stories. Ontario's Financial Accountability Office warned that provincial health and education spending isn't keeping pace with growing need, with funding gaps that could reach billions of dollars within three years, a concern directly relevant to how school boards like Ottawa's fund the kind of math supports these results suggest are needed. Read more in ottown's earlier report.
Sources: EQAO (GlobeNewswire release), CP24, insauga
