The majority of students at most Mapleton elementary schools performed at or near the provincial average in reading, writing and mathematics in testing from the Education Quality Accountability Office (EQAO) for 2011-2012.
Province wide, 66 per cent of Grade 3 students were at the provincial standard (levels three and four) in reading, 76 per cent were at the provincial standard in writing and 68 per cent reached the target in math.
Across the Upper Grand District School Board, this year’s Grade 3 students improved by three per cent in reading, and matched last year’s writing and math results, while at the Grade 6 level students improved in both reading and writing and held their own in math.
“We know our literacy strategies are working,” said board chair Bob Borden. “By identifying the best instructional practices, we can prompt more student achievement.”
At Alma Public School, 67 per cent of students were at the provincial standard in reading, up from 45 per cent in 2010-11; 67 per cent reached the standard in writing, up from 45 per cent last year and 76 per cent reached the standard in math, compared to 50 per cent the previous year.
A full 100 per cent of students at Alma PS were at the provincial standard in reading, 75 per cent in writing and 70 per cent in mathematics. That compares to last year’s figures when 95 per cent made the grade in reading, 90 per cent in writing and 90 per cent in math.
At Centre Peel Public School, 34 per cent of Grade 3 students were at the provincial standard in reading, 48 per cent in writing and 31 per cent in math. Last year, 36 per cent of students reached the mark in writing and only 18 per cent in mathematics. Numbers for Centre Peel Grade 3 reading scores for 2010-11 were not reported.
Numbers are not reported when the number of participating students falls below a minimum threshold, in order to avoid identification of individual student results.
In Grade 6, 48 per cent of students reached the provincial standard in reading, 55 per cent in writing and 34 per cent in math. Those numbers are all an improvement from last year, when 43 per cent reached the standard in reading, 26 per cent in writing and 34 per cent in math.
At Drayton Heights Public School, 68 per cent of Grade 3 students reached the provincial standard in reading, 72 per cent in writing and 52 per cent in math. All three numbers are down from last year, when 70 per cent of students were at the standard in reading, 78 per cent in writing and 85 per cent in math.
In Grade 6, 71 per cent of Drayton Heights students reached the standard in reading, 79 per cent in writing and 57 per cent in math. Last year 81 per cent hit the target in reading, 73 per cent in writing and 73 per cent in math.
Maryborough Public School Grade 3 results showed 68 per cent of students reaching the provincial standard in reading, compared to 61 per cent last year. In writing, 79 per cent of students hit the standard, down from 89 per cent last year. In math, 75 per cent of students reached the standard, compared to 67 per cent last year.
In Grade 6, 78 per cent of Maryborough PS students reached the standard in reading this year, while 94 per cent hit the standard in writing and 66 per cent in math. Numbers for 2010-11 at Maryborough PS were not reportable.
Grade 9 Math results
Most Mapleton Grade 9 students attend either Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus or Norwell District Secondary School in Palmerston. At Norwell, 47 per cent of students in the applied program were at or above the provincial standard for math, while the figure for academic students was 89 per cent. Both numbers are up from last year, when 40 per cent of applied students were at or above the standard and 81 per cent of academic students hit the target.
At Centre Wellington, 44 per cent of applied students were at or above the provincial standard, compared to 37 last year, while 82 per cent of academic students reached the target, compared to 83 per cent in 2010-11.
Across the Upper Grand District School Board, Grade 9 math students in the academic stream earned 87 per cent success, and applied students 53 per cent compared with 84 per cent and 44 provincially. Gains made by Upper Grand’s applied students rose one percentage point over last year, and two percentage points for academic students.
“The results show that we’re consistently improving our instruction in Grade 9 math,” said Borden. “The strategies our teachers are using and the thoughtful analysis they put into the results are having the desired effect in improving our instructional practice.”
