THUNDER BAY -- Mathematics will be a focal point for local elementary students after the latest standardized test results show a need for improvement in that area.
The Education Quality and Accountability Office released the results for Grades 3 and 6 in reading, writing and math Wednesday.
Lakehead Public Schools shows growth over the last five years in reading and writing at both grade levels, but math has held steady below the provincial average.
Superintendent of education Sherri-Lynne Pharand said overall the board is thrilled with the results, particularly with the increase in reading and writing for Grade 6 students.
But with less than 50 per cent of students meeting the provincial math standard in the junior division, math will be a focus over the next year.
Pharand said the assessment showed the students already have a strong foundation for arithmetic, it’s when to use those skills in problem-solving and real life applications that proves troublesome.
“We’re going to start working in the junior grades,” she said. “It’s where math goes from being really concrete in the early primary to more conceptual in the junior grades.”
About 66 per cent of Grade 3 students met or scored above the standard in reading and 71 per cent passed in writing. Sixty per cent met the standard in math, seven per cent below the provincial average of 67 per cent.
The provincial averages in reading and writing were 70 and 78 per cent respectively.
Seventy-seven per cent of Grade 6 students met the standard in reading; 75 per cent in writing and 47 in math. The provincial averages were 79, 78 and 54 per cent respectively.
The Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board saw their students score above the provincial standard in all three categories in both Grades 3 and 6.
The Grade 3 results were 75 per cent in reading, 83 per cent in writing and 72 per cent in math; the Grade 6 results were 83 per cent in reading, 83 per cent in writing and 56 per cent in math.
Catholic board superintendent of education Omer Belisle said they are pleased with their results and are thankful to their staff, teachers, principals and parents.
Although the Grade 6 math score was above the provincial average at 56 per cent, Belisle said the subject is still going to be a focal point for the board going into the school year as it will be across the province.
‘It’s going to get a lot of attention as it gets measured and we see the results and something that usually gets that kind of attention usually improves,” Belisle said.
“That’s something we have to look closer at and when we deepen our understanding of (the results) then we can see where we really have to allocate our resources,” he added.