Durham Catholic District School Board releases 2017-2018 EQAO and OSSLT results

September 19, 2018 – The Durham Catholic District School Board is on par with provincial standings or showing steady gains in the areas of Math, Reading and Writing according to the latest results from the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) and Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). 

“We are pleased with our students’ achievements,” said Gerry O’Reilly, Superintendent of Education: Student Achievement. “We are at, or above the province in both Primary and Junior Divisions. We continue to focus on proven strategies in Mathematics and are changing students’ perceptions of Math. More importantly we are reinforcing that we can all do Math.” 

In 2018, a total of 1,593 Grade 3 students wrote the Primary assessment and 1,450 Grade 6 students wrote the Junior assessment. 

At the secondary level, 1,157 Grade 9 students enrolled in Academic Math and 337 students enrolled in Grade 9 Applied Math participated in the EQAO testing. 

In addition, 1,474 eligible Grade 10 students participated in the one-day OSSLT focused on key skills in reading and writing. 

Below are the board and provincial averages for each area of testing. 

EQAO Test         Board Average     Provincial Average

Grade 3 Reading       75%                   75%

Grade 3 Writing        74%                   72%

Grade 3 Math            61%                   61%

Grade 6 Reading        86%                   82%

Grade 6 Writing         87%                   80%

Grade 6 Math            53%                   49%

Grade 9 Math (Academic) 82%             84%

Grade 9 Math (Applied)   41%              45%

Grade 10 Literacy Assessment 79%      79%

“Mathematics continues to be an area of focus for our board and provincially,” said Anne O’Brien, Director of Education. “We continue to support educators and students through our Numeracy Action Plan, while helping parents and guardians understand new approaches to ensure learning Math is a positive and rewarding experience for students.” 

“Supporting students’ achievement in Mathematics and Literacy remains a priority for the board,” said Tricia Chapman, Chair of the Board. “Staff is committed to improving academic outcomes and sharing new approaches and resources with students to increase engagement.”