FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Student results improve on provincial literacy test
May 11, 2005, Belleville, Ontario—Today the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board released the annual results on the Grade 10 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). It is good news for students in both the Applied and Academic streams where results continue to improve.

Overall, the percentage of students who were successful on the test on the first attempt rose to
83 percent in 2004, compared to the provincial average of 82 percent. Of the students who re-took the test, 61 percent were successful in 2004, compared to the provincial average of 62 percent.

“The Board continues to see results of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test improve each year. It is through the ongoing refinement of teaching strategies and enhanced programming that our students achieve success on the provincial test,” remarks Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board.

Over the past year, the Board has introduced support programs for students. Initiatives such as literacy camps, after-school literacy programs and Student Success classes have all contributed to the improved results.

“I am happy to see the continued growth,” observes Kathy Soule, Director of Education. “It is through the combined efforts of everyone involved—students, teachers, educational assistants, principals and vice-principals, support staff, and parents/guardians—that the Board’s students are achieving results comparable to students across the province.”

Establishing supports for teachers is another contributing factor to students’ improved results. The Board has hosted book clubs where teachers come together to discuss books on topics such as the learning styles of boys and teenage brain development.

According to Christine Walker Bird, Board Leader for Student Success, literacy is more than just reading books in English class.

“In many ways every teacher is a literacy teacher,” remarks Bird. “The focus is on helping students learn to read more than just novels. In courses like Geography, Science or Math, students are learning how to interpret graphs, charts, maps and recipes.”

Beginning with the 2005-06 school year, the Education Quality Assessment Office (EQAO) which administers the test will introduce the following changes:
• The OSSLT will be written in March instead of October
• The OSSLT will be conducted on one morning instead of two

The purpose of the OSSLT is to determine whether students have achieved the minimum acceptable level of reading and writing skills described in The Ontario Curriculum, across all subjects, to the end of Grade 9.

The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has 54 schools serving 18,400 students, employing 1,070 teachers and 705 support staff. The Board covers a wide geographical area of 7,221 square kilometres bordered by Maynooth to the north, Deseronto to the east, Prince Edward County to the south, and Quinte West to the west.

For information, contact:
• Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, (613) 966-1170, or 1 800 267-4350, ext. 2354