TORONTO — Standardized testing results released today show that fewer Ontario students in Grades 3 and 6 met the provincial standard in reading and writing than the previous year.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office results from the 2023-24 school year show that results in math – a focal point of the Progressive Conservative government – are steady or slightly improving, though still low.

For Grade 3 students, 71 per cent met the provincial standard in reading, down two percentage points from the previous year, and 64 per cent met the standard in writing, down from 65 per cent the previous year.

For students in Grade 6, 82 per cent met the provincial standard in reading, down two percentage points from the previous year, and 80 per cent met the standard in writing, down from 84 per cent in the previous year.

Students in Grade 10 typically write the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, which assesses literacy to the end of Grade 9, and 85 per cent were successful, the same percentage as last year.

The results for math across all grades were much lower, with 61 per cent of Grade 3 students meeting the provincial standard, 50 per cent of Grade 6 students meeting the standard, and 54 per cent of Grade 9 students meeting it.

Education Minister Jill Dunlop said the results are encouraging.

“Today’s EQAO results show that, after years of disruption to foundational classroom learning resulting from the pandemic, student learning in Ontario is stabilizing as our government’s focus on core learning and practical skills development begins to be felt,” she wrote in a statement.

“We can see that Ontario students are benefiting from our government’s back-to-basics approach, including over $165 million in investments to support literacy and math, as well as the steps we have taken to avoid labour unrest so students can remain in the classroom.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press