EQAO Profiles the Hard Work and Dedication of Two Schools in Northeastern Ontario

NORTHEASTERN ONTARIO, Sept. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - "Data is used to inform classroom instruction and to know the student. Data is reviewed on an ongoing basis and is part of our daily life at school," said Carmela Pitman, principal at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board's St. Andrew Catholic School, discussing EQAO data as a tool for supporting student success. "It allows us to identify the trends throughout our school and helps us focus on various points in the curriculum. But, most importantly, data allows us to put a plan in place and shows us how to action it for improved student achievement."

St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School is one of two schools in northeastern Ontario being profiled in the Education Quality and Accountability Office's (EQAO's) Provincial Reports, released today, due to their committed efforts toward improving student achievement. The second school is the Near North District School Board's Parry Sound High School. The 27 schools being profiled this year are notable for their leadership, data-driven strategies and whole-school approaches to helping every child succeed. Although faced with its own unique circumstances, each profiled school has adopted an action plan to work toward improved student outcomes using provincial assessment results as a guide.

Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, Primary Division (Grades 1-3) and Junior Division (Grades 4-6)

• St. Andrew Catholic School, Sudbury
  "Data is used to inform classroom instruction and to know the student. Data is reviewed on an ongoing basis and is part of our daily life at school. It allows us to identify the trends throughout our school and helps us focus on various points in the curriculum. But, most importantly, data allows us to put a plan in place and shows us how to action it for improved student achievement."
  —Carmela Pitman, principal

Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics

• Parry Sound High School, Parry Sound
  "Data identifies trends, clusters and individuals. You can't make changes in your school if you are not informed. The data informs you. It tells you where your strengths and weaknesses are. It's that simple."
  —Andy Gagné, principal

"EQAO results not only help schools identify areas of student learning that need attention, they also help them gauge the effectiveness of their improvement efforts," said Marguerite Jackson, EQAO's Chief Executive Officer. "The schools being profiled this year will surely inspire other schools and their communities across the province."

Some of the common factors in addressing the literacy and numeracy needs of students that the profiled schools have identified are professional learning communities; data-driven decision making; a whole-school approach to literacy, numeracy and student achievement; small-group learning for literacy and numeracy; differentiated instruction; high-quality teaching; early intervention; tracking of all student progress; parental involvement; the coordination of school and board improvement planning and the implementation of Ministry of Education initiatives.

The provincial news release "Ontario Students Demonstrate High Proficiency in Literacy. Success in Math Not Keeping Pace" and a backgrounder are also available.

Results for all publicly funded elementary and secondary schools and their school boards are available on EQAO's web site.

Les résultats des écoles de langue française sont disponibles en français.

SOURCE: Education Quality and Accountability Office

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