FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2002

Working Conditions - Why do we need DRA?
Key issues in the current job action by ETFO’s elementary teachers are wage parity with this Board’s secondary school teachers and working conditions, centred around the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). Why do we need a reading assessment instrument?

Results of the province’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) literacy tests for Grades 3 and 6 students have convinced the Ministry of Education, along with school boards across Ontario, that a major investment is needed to assist teachers in improving early literacy.

As a part of the Ministry’s solution, all school boards in Ontario must implement an early reading assessment instrument. The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board, along with approximately 22 other school boards in Ontario, has selected the Developmental Reading Assessment.

Any assessment begins with an understanding of students’ ability to read. The DRA, therefore, is an important diagnostic tool that drives instruction and enables teachers to identify specific areas in reading where students need help. It assists teachers to communicate students’ reading levels to parents, and effectively determines how teachers and parents can co-operatively work together to improve the students’ performance.

Why is this important? Research indicates that 90 to 95% of all children can learn to read at grade level with proper intervention. The chances of successfully improving reading difficulties is dramatically increased if effective intervention efforts begin as early as possible in the primary grades.

At this time, 24 out of 39 elementary schools with primary age students in the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board have completed the implementation of the Developmental Reading Assessment, while all others are at the 50% or above stage.

“School principals are using a variety of strategies to provide in-class time for teachers to apply the new assessment tool. It is recommended that two students be assessed per day, over a four to six week period. Since the diagnostic tool is new, many principals are providing release time through the use of occasional teachers, and classes are being combined, when appropriate, to free up teachers to do individual student assessments,” says Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board. She adds that, “In other situations, principals or vice-principals are covering a class in the morning or afternoon while the teacher does assessments.”

For information contact :
• Veronica Ford, Assistant to Superintendent of Education Services, 966-1170 x 2414
• Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board (613) 332-1480
• Chris Salt, Superintendent of Human Resources/Operations, 966-1170 x2281
• Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, 966-1170 x2354