Area students scored high marks in province-wide testing conducted last year by the Education Quality and Accountability Office in the areas of math, reading, writing and literacy. More than 400,000 students across Ontario in grades 3, 6 and 9 took the EQAO tests. Students in grades 3 and 6 took the tests in reading, writing and math, while students in grade 9 took the math and literacy tests.

When examining the results on a board-by-board basis, students in the French language Catholic board not only outperformed their peers in the other three school boards in Ottawa, they out-performed their fellow students across the province.

Grade 3 students in the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) scored five per cent higher than the provincial average in reading and writing and three per cent higher in math. Meanwhile, CECCE students in Grade 6 scored five per cent higher than the provincial average in writing, four per cent higher in read-ing and two per cent higher in math.

The board’s grade 9 students also surpassed the rest of the province in math assessment testing with 71 per cent, achieving a thorough or good understanding of the subject compared to 66 per cent of grade 9 students province-wide.

Students enrolled in the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) also outpaced their provincial counterparts.

Grade 3 students in the OCSB scored eight per cent higher than the provincial average among English language schools in writing, six per cent higher in reading and five per cent higher in math. Grade 6 students in the OCSB scored six per cent higher in math, and five per cent higher in both reading and writing.

The test results among students in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) were generally on par with the provincial average among English language schools at both the grade 3 and grade 6 levels.

Seventy-three per cent of the grade 3 students in the OCSB achieved a thorough or good understanding of the subject material on the writing test, compared to 75 per cent province wide. Sixty-four per cent achieved a thorough or a good understanding of the subject material on the reading test compared to 67 per cent province wide. And 62 per cent achieved a thorough or a good understanding of the subject material on the math test compared to 65 per cent province wide.

The Grade 6 students achieved results that were almost identical to the provincial average. Eighty-five per cent achieved a thorough or a good understanding of the subject material on both the reading and writing tests and 51 per cent achieved a thorough or a good understanding of the subject material on the math test compared to 52 per cent province wide.

As for Orléans, Convent Glen Catholic School achieved the highest results among Grade 3 students with 94 per cent achieving a thorough or a good understanding of the subject material on both the reading and writing tests, and 80 per cent achieved the same results on the math test, placing them second in that category after Convent Glen Catholic School where 82 per cent of the students who took the test achieved a thorough or a good understanding of the subject material.

Convent Glen’s Grade 6 students also did extremely well on the tests. Ninety-four per cent of them achieved a thorough or a good understanding of the subject material in both the reading and writing tests, placing them first in both categories among the English language schools in Orléans, and 70 per cent achieved the same result on the math test.

Only Good Shepherd Catholic School in Blackburn Hamlet had a higher percentage of its Grade 6 students (76%) achieved the same results.

Teachers and administrators use the test results to focus on areas where there is an obvious deficiency. It also aids them in allocating resources to those schools where help may be needed..