Waterloo Region School Boards both highlight strengths amid Ontario’s low math scores

Amanda Modaragamage, Gazette Reporter

After recent reports that nearly half of Ontario’s Grade 6 students failed to meet the provincial standard in math, the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) report it’s not all bad news.

Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra released the latest Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) testing data, noting that only 51 per cent of Grade 6 students met the provincial standard in math this school year.

“When I got results, it frustrated me and made me quite upset,” Calandra said during a press conference early this month. “If we were doing it right, then we wouldn’t have 50 per cent of our students not meeting provincial benchmarks.”

In a media release, the WRDSB said 62 per cent of its students in the primary division met the provincial standard in math, 52 per cent of junior division students met the standard and 62 per cent of Grade 9 students achieved the standard.

The WCDSB reported that 65 per cent of primary students met the provincial math standard, 53 per cent of junior students met the standard and 53 per cent of Grade 9 students met the standard.

Though math scores throughout the province were not as strong as expected, both WRDSB and WCDSB say results show improvement that is on par or exceeds provincial standards in reading, writing and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT).

WRDSB students performed at or above the 2023-2024 results and say the results of the assessments provide them with valuable data to help determine areas of focus for the future.

Both boards note these results are just one of many assessment tools used to measure and support student achievement. They add the data represents a snapshot in time and is most useful when examined as part of long-term trends.

“The outcomes reflected in the 2024-2025 EQAO results reinforce our commitment to the strategies that we have in place to continue to support students’ academic achievement,” read the WRDSB press release. “The WRDSB Strategic Spending Plan for 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 will allow additional investment in improved student outcomes in literacy and math, with a focus on further enhancing in-school supports who work directly with students and classroom educators.”