By Mike Anderson
According to the results of 2023-2024 provincial math tests released last month by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), which administers standardized testing in Ontario schools, most of Georgina’s public schools failed to meet the Level 3 provincial math standard.
While EQAO reports that 69 per cent of YRDSB Grade 9 students were at or above the provincial standard in math in 2023-24, only 21 per cent of Grade 9 students at Sutton District High School (Sutton DHS) achieved that result, and at Keswick High School it was 34 per cent.
According to EQAO, students in Georgina’s elementary schools are also struggling.
While 64 per cent of YRDSB Grade 6 students were at or above the provincial standard for math, Lakeside PS (Keswick) achieved only 8 per cent; Jersey PS (Keswick) 15 per cent; Black River PS (Sutton) 21 per cent; Deer Park PS (Keswick) 25 per cent; Lake Simcoe PS (Keswick) 29 per cent; Morning Glory PS (Pefferlaw) 31 per cent; and Fairwood PS (Keswick) 36 per cent – only Keswick PS was close to the YRDSB average, with 59 per cent.
Carolyn Butterworth, public school trustee for East Gwillimbury and Georgina, is disappointed with the results, but says they should not be the sole indicator of a student’s progress.
“The results are not what we hoped for. But as a former teacher, I regularly saw EQAO results that did not align with how the students were actually doing in class,” Butterworth said in an email to The Post.
“EQAO results are only one measure of the many ways we assess student achievement. These results provide a snapshot of results across the region and are taken into consideration with other forms of assessment by our educators. I taught many students in my 32 years of teaching who did not meet or exceed expectations/Levels 3 & 4 on EQAO tests but they went into apprenticeships or on to college and university and are now successful adults.”
That said, Butterworth says there are plans in place to address the poor EQAO results, including the appointment of Board Math Leads and implementing a new math strategy.
“Board Math Leads will be meeting regularly with Administrators and Math teachers to support math planning, implementation and monitoring of goals. School staff will be identifying and implementing strategies aimed at improving students’ math achievement,” she said.
Butterworth adds that Sutton DHS will get special attention.
“For Sutton DHS, which is considered a Priority School by the Ministry, we are in the process of putting in more support for the students through the Math Action Plan,” she said.
“One example is providing a digital math tool to support student mathematics learning at home and at school.”
While EQAO results were originally intended to give parents, teachers, principals and school boards an indication of how students were doing and to provide a level of expectation, they didn’t impact students’ marks.
Still, some schools allow EQAO results to be included in students’ final marks to encourage them to take the testing seriously.
The province has now formalized that practice by requiring schools to count the Grade 9 math test as part of (up to ten per cent) a student’s final Grade 9 math mark.
The province has also introduced other measures to boost math.
Starting in 2025, new teachers will have to demonstrate a basic math competency by passing a Math Proficiency Test.
To find out how your child’s school fared on the provincial tests, visit www.eqao.com.
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