Catholic board students in Windsor-Essex "exceed" provincial EQAO standards

Students in Catholic schools in Windsor-Essex made "significant gains" and exceeded provincial averages on standardized testing in the 2018-2019 school year.

According to the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, 62 per cent of students met or exceeded the Grade 9 applied math standard up from 59 per cent in the previous year. The provincial average is 44 per cent.

The board said it's through "targeted interventions" that they've been able to make progress.

"We use our EQAO data for its intended purpose: to identify those students who may require extra support, and to develop strategies to make sure that they succeed," said Emelda Byrne, executive superintendent of student achievement.

On the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, students in the Catholic board surpassed the Ontario average by six per cent.

Board chair Fulvio Valentinis said he was happy with the results, especially with math.

"It's evident that the strategies our team has developed are working," said Valentinis.

Elementary grade students also made gains over provincial averages, including by up to 3 per cent for Grade 3 students and up to 4 per cent for Grade 6 students.