When it comes to literacy, the majority of students in Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton met or exceeded provincial standards, but numeracy skills took a hit.
The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) recently released the individual school board results from its latest round of reading, writing and math testing. Students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 at the Lambton-Kent District School Board (LKDSB) and St. Clair Catholic School Board excelled in some areas but struggled in others, namely math.
Provincially, 59 per cent of Grade 3 students, 47.2 per cent of Grade 6 students and 52.3 per cent of Grade 9 students met or exceeded math standards.
Results for the LKDSB show that just 50 per cent of Grade 3 students, 33.3 per cent of Grade 6 students, and 33.6 per cent of Grade 9 students met provincial math standards.
The SCCDSB's numeracy results were only marginally better, with 53.4 per cent of Grade 3s, 40.8 per cent of Grade 6s and 46.5 per cent of Grade 9s at par.
Reading and writing results at both school boards were stronger, with students either trailing slightly behind the province's average or exceeding them. Reading skills among Grade 6 SCCDSB students came ahead of provincial standards by one percent with 85.9 per cent meeting the requirements.
Grade 3 LKDSB students had a harder time with reading and writing compared to their peers in Grade 6. Only 50 per cent met writing standards. Grade 6 students came behind the province's results, but the results show that most students have a strong grasp of reading and writing.
Most high school students throughout Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton also passed the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test on their first try.
The results come after two years of no testing throughout the pandemic. During that time, the Ministry of Education also released a new mathematics curriculum. Math test results in Ontario dropped overall according to the 2021-22 EQAO testing period.
A full breakdown of the test results can be found on the EQAO's website.
