The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 Mixed EQAO results in local schools While Board-wide, students with the Halton District School Board preformed above the provincial average in the annual Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) testing, locally, the results were not as encouraging. Grade three students at Robert Little School were below both the provincial and Board levels of achievement for reading and writing, and above the province, but below the Board, in math. The provincial standard is Level three and four, or a "B" grade, or above. At McKenzie-Smith Bennett School, the reading and writing results for Grades three and Grade six were below both the provincial and Board averages. The math results for Grade three exceed the provincial average, but not the Halton results. The Grade six math results at MSB were not encouraging as only 38 per cent of students who wrote the test achieved a Level three result, compared with 58 per cent across Ontario and 66 per cent in Halton. Grade three students at Limehouse Public School exceeded both the provincial and Board averages in reading, writing and math. Reading and writing achievement results for Grade three students at Brookville Public School were lower than both the provincial and Board results. The math results exceeded the Ontario results, and were just slightly less than the Board average. In Grade six, the reading and math results at Brookville were lower than both the provincial and Board average, and the writing results exceed the provincial numbers, but were lower than the Board-wide average. In Grade nine applied math at Acton High School, 46 per cent of students achieved a Level three or above result, compared to 44 per cent across Ontario and 54 per cent Board-wide. In Grade nine academic math, 83 per cent of students achieved a Level three or above, compared with 84 per cent provincially and 91 per cent in Halton. In a press release, the Halton District School Board said its students continue to perform above the provincial average, with the Grade three reading and writing showing gains over past years. Reading results increased to 73 per cent of students achieving a Level three or above, compared to 71 per cent last year in Halton, while provincial results were 66 per cent. Grade three writing results showed an increase to 79 per cent from 77 per cent last year, while the provincial results this year were 76 per cent. The Board said that like the provincial results, Grade three math results dropped by one per cent to 75 per cent ­ provincial results were 68 per cent ­ and that over the past five years, Halton's Grade three math results have increased by four per cent overall. Board-wide, the Grade six reading results increased to 82 per cent ­ up from 79 per cent last year ­ and over the past five years the reading results have jumped by 15 per cent overall. The Board's Grade nine applied math results ­ 54 per cent ­ indicate a one per cent increase over last year, while the Board's Grade nine academic math results increased by one per THE NEW TANNER 11 cent over last year to 91 per cent achieving a Level three or above result. "We are pleased with the continued improvement of our students on these provincial assessments," said David Euale, the Director of Education. "We are grateful to our teachers, educational assistants, administrators and system leaders for their dedication to student achievement." While officials don't believe the results should be used to rank individual schools, the Halton District School Board uses the EQAO results, along with other data to determine how to improve student learning. EQAO Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics 2011-12: Halton DSB Primary Primary Primary Junior Junior Reading Writing Math Reading Writing Province HDSB Brookville Limehouse McKenzie S-B Robert Little 66 73 83 86 62 63 76 79 90 90 72 71 68 75 81 86 74 73 75 82 82 N/D 62 N/D 74 80 86 N/D 63 N/D Junior Math 58 66 73 N/D 38 N/D EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics 2011-2012 Grade 9 Grade 9 Applied Academic Math Math Province HDSB Acton HS 44 54 46 84 91 83 Percentage of All Students Achieving At or Above the Provincial Standard of Level Three of a "B" Percentage of All Students Achieving At or Above the Provincial Standard in Applied and Academic Mathematics