Record-high 125 830 English-language Students Meet Literacy Standard

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) announced today that a record-high 125 830 English-language students writing the test for the first time were successful on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) this year.

Of the students who wrote the test for the first time, 84% met the literacy standard for reading and writing, based on the expectations in The Ontario Curriculum. This represents a 9% increase since the test was introduced in 2002. In terms of today’s student population, this means an additional 13 000 students were able to pass the test.

“These results demonstrate real progress for students across Ontario,” said EQAO Chair Charles Pascal. “The OSSLT continues to play an important role in Ontario’s education system by providing a reliable and independent gauge of the literacy skills each student has acquired. In just five short years since this test was introduced, we can track how students in Ontario’s publicly funded system are continuing to develop stronger skills in literacy- an essential springboard for success that helps them become full participants in society and workers in today’s knowledge economy.”

“At the same time, the success rate for special needs students increased from 40% to 55% while the success rate for students who speak English as a second language rose from 37% to 51% over the past five years,” Pascal added. “While showing progress over time, these results indicate there’s room for improvement and more support is needed to ensure all students become successful learners.”

Close to 159 000 Grade 10 students were eligible to write the literacy test for the first time on March 29, 2006. All but 6% of that group attempted the test on that day.

“Improvement in achievement rates is good news for Ontario students and speaks strongly to the emphasis being placed on literacy in the province,” said Marguerite Jackson, EQAO’s Chief Executive Officer. “At the same time we cannot overlook the number of students who still do not possess adequate literacy skills- more than 28 000 students this year. The data challenge us to intervene on their behalf. The results being released today will allow schools to focus instruction so that learning is improved for these students.”

For the past decade, EQAO has been helping to build capacity in schools by measuring student learning according to curriculum expectations at key stages in their education. The independent, reliable and consistent facts that EQAO tests provide have driven continuous improvement strategies and have led to steady progress in student achievement in Ontario.

Results for individual schools, school boards and the province are available on EQAO’s Web site, www.eqao.com, as are this year’s Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, 2005-2006: Provincial Report and Highlights. The provincial report also profiles schools across Ontario that have developed a culture of evidence-based decision making to enhance student learning.