For immediate release
December 6, 2001

HPEDSB students achieve well above the provincial level

        In the first ever Grade 9 provincial assessment of Mathematics, 84% of Academic and 58% of Applied level students in the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board scored well. The board results of the assessment, administered by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), were made public today. These results are significantly above the provincial results in this assessment based on the Province's new Math curriculum.
        Students in academic and applied courses wrote separate versions of the assessment with, 64% of the Board's Grade 9 students writing the assessment at the challenging Academic level.
        Overall, this is how Grade 9 students in the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board performed:
 
Level 2, 3, 4 Level 3, 4 
HPEDSB Province HPEDSB Province
Academic 84% 75% 59% 49%
Applied 58% 38% 23% 13%

         For this assessment, EQAO reports student results on a four-level achievement scale taken from The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Program Planning and Assessment. According to this scale, level 1 is described as a passable level of achievement. Level 2 is a moderate level of achievement that is approaching the provincial standard. Level 3 is the provincial standard. A score of level 3 means the student works independently, understands most of the required concepts and completes work with only a few minor errors or omissions. And level 4 is a very high to outstanding level of achievement that is above the provincial standard.
        "We are absolutely thrilled to hear that our students scored so well on the EQAO assessments," said Judy Edgar, Chair of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board.  "The credit has to go to not just the students but also to the teachers, staff, and parents who all work together for the success of our students."
        Results of this assessment will now be used, together with the results of the Grades 3 and 6 assessments, to develop an overall Board action plan to further improve student achievement across both elementary and secondary grades.
        "I can't tell you how proud I am of the performance of our students and teachers," said Bill Coombs, Superintendent of Instruction and Curriculum Services. "In addition, EQAO has provided us with lots of specific feedback through the assessment so that we can continue to work on improvement, particularly with our Applied students."
        The full 2000-2001 Provincial Report on Achievement is available on the EQAO website at www.eqao.com.
 

For information contact:
Bill Coombs, Superintendent of Instruction and Curriculum Services
966-9491, ext. 2413

Click here for individual school results (posted February 15, 2002)