Dufferin-Peel Catholic students

continue to outperform province on Literacy Test

MISSISSAUGA – Results from the April 2010 administration of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) indicate that Dufferin-Peel continues to demonstrate a higher success rate than the province as a whole. This year, 85% of Dufferin-Peel students who wrote the OSSLT for the first time, successfully completed the test. While this represents a slight decline of 3% in the number of Dufferin-Peel students who passed the test from the previous administration in April 2009, it exceeds the pass rate of 84% for students across the province writing the test for the first time.

“Maintaining this level of performance, is welcome news for our school communities. Although we remain pleased to see that our students continue to outpace their peers province-wide, the board is focused on increasing the high level of achievement over the next number of years,” said Ralph Borrelli, Associate Director, Instructional Services. “In order to meet our future achievement goals, the collaboration of school, family and parish is central to supporting the learning needs of all students, particularly those who were unsuccessful on this year’s test.”

The OSSLT is conducted annually by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), an independent agency with the mandate to ensure greater accountability and to help improve the quality of education. The Literacy Test provides an indication of each student’s achievement of reading and writing skills up to the end of Grade 9.

The April 2010 OSSLT results report on two groups of students: “first-time eligible students” (students who entered Grade 9 during the 2008-2009 school year and any others who were placed in this cohort) and “previously eligible students” (students who entered Grade 9 prior to 2008-2009 and who have not successfully completed the test). Students who were not successful during a previous administration must successfully complete the Literacy Test or, alternatively, the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course. Successful completion of the Literacy Test or the Literacy Course is one of the thirty-two requirements of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

The results for first-time eligible students who wrote and passed the test in the last five administrations of the Literacy Test are presented below:

The April 2010 Literacy Test results for previously eligible students are presented below:

“This year’s Literacy test results confirm that our elementary and secondary schools have helped a great proportion of our students to experience success in literacy,” said Marianne Mazzorato, Superintendent of Program. “Our Catholic schools have continued to provide rich and supportive learning environments in which all students can flourish. As a board, our next steps are to continue to enhance capacity to support students’ achievement and well-being, while focusing on ways to ensure that the specific learning needs of each student are met by his or her school community.”

Practices in place in Dufferin-Peel schools that continue to prove successful include: a focus on literacy at the elementary level, prior to Grade 9; delivering literacy instruction across the curriculum in Grade 9; providing all Grade 9 students with an OSSLT simulation opportunity and a Success Tips booklet; offering additional learning opportunities to Grade 10 students through After School and Summer Literacy programs; and providing explicit instructional preparation over the first and second semesters to support improved student achievement in reading and writing in all courses.

Dufferin-Peel is in the process of analyzing the Literacy Test results in greater detail to provide better support to schools, parents and students in order to ensure that more students are better prepared to pass the test on their first attempt. Each school has its own literacy plan, which will be reviewed in the context of the test results, to improve students’ reading and writing skills in all subject areas. School plans include strategies to assist all students, including remediation for students who did not successfully complete the Literacy Test.

Individual school results will be available on the board website at www.dpcdsb.org in the fall of 2010. Additional information on the test can be obtained through the EQAO web site at www.eqao.com.

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is one of largest and most diverse school districts in Ontario, with approximately 87,000 students in 145 Catholic schools throughout Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon and Orangeville. With over 10,000 employees, the board is also one of the largest employers in the region. It is the goal of the board to provide quality education to students in a setting which fosters Catholic values and beliefs.

posted June 17, 2010.