Education Quality and Accountability Office

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Area school boards are encouraged by the long-term results of EQAO testing, though public schools didn't fare quite as well in the short term.

Year-over-year results for students with the Lambton-Kent District School Board dropped slightly in six of eight assessed categories.

Students at the St. Clair Catholic District School Board fared slightly better.

The

EQAO results show that about half of the students meet the math standard in the last school year.

It also says disparities in achievement for students with special education needs is an ongoing concern.

The EQAOs are out.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office released the results from last year.

They show a 1% increase in math scores for grade 6, but still half of students don't meet the province's math standard.

Welcome back to Ontario Today.

I'm glad to be back.

In Ontario, students who need extra support in the classroom are still falling behind.

That's one of the findings in the latest report from the Education Quality and Accountability Office, or EQAO, the province's student testing agency.

The report says the achievement gap for students with special education needs is still a concern.

Lisa Weiler Haskins is president of the Educational Assistance Association.

I think we need the funding to be put into our schools so that the kids who are falling behind and need help can get help.

For elementary teachers of Toronto, the EQAO results are a distraction.

Nigel Barife is the group's president.

The, the money that we are spending on EQAO should be spent on bringing more resources for children with special needs.

In a statement, Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra says the report includes valuable information about where action is needed, and he'll work with school boards to figure out how to help students who need it most.

Carina Zapata, CBC News, Toronto.

You know, finding ways to ensure that kids are learning math.

Our EQAO scores are very poor.

Only half the kids meet the mark.

I mean, that should be a crying priority.

Even among level 3 students in English language schools, the success rate was only 61%.

Clearly, based on both the PISA and EQAO tests, the Ontario government has not excelled in putting student achievement first.

Will its latest changes improve things? Its announcement includes increased school spending, but this is certainly no silver bullet, as past experience has shown.

Ontario's previous government ramped up public school per student spending significantly and test scores declined.