Durham District School Board Releases
School-by-School Results for Grade Nine
EQAO Mathematics Assessment


Media Release
September 17, 2009

The Durham District School Board (DDSB) today released the school-by-school results of the Grade 9 Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) Assessment of Mathematics, 2008-2009. In the Durham District School Board (DDSB), a total of 3,542 academic students and 1,609 applied students at 18 schools participated in the assessment.

Across the DDSB, 94 per cent of applied students who participated in the assessment achieved a passable score while 99 per cent of students in the academic program achieved a passable score. These results are tabulated to reflect the achievement of all participating students, which excludes those who were exempted and for whom there is no data. Across the province, 93 per cent of applied and 99 per cent of academic students achieved a passable score.
“Durham District School Board students continue to make gains in the Grade 9 math assessment and more importantly the information gathered through this exercise helps us to support student achievement each and every day,” says Luigia Ayotte, superintendent of programs services/staff development.

Forty per cent of students in the applied program who participated in the assessment achieved a score at level three or four. The provincial result is 40 per cent. Among students in the academic program, 70 per cent achieved a score of level three or four. The provincial result using this method is 78 per cent. The Ontario curriculum identifies level one as a passable level of achievement and is equivalent to a score of 50-59 per cent. Level two is described as a level of achievement approaching the provincial standard and is equivalent to a score of 60-69 per cent. Achievement at level three is equivalent of a score of 70-79 per cent and level four is 80-100 per cent.

The Board provides ongoing professional development and resources to all schools, which focus on improving student achievement in literacy and numeracy. To support schools in achieving rigorous provincial academic standards the Durham District School Board works with school teams to link meaningful data and assessment to instruction. Schools take a major leadership role in being accountable for the development and implementation of their own improvement plans, which are linked to Durham Directions and to the Board's strategic plan.

All parents will receive an Individual Student Report about their child's results from this year's assessment. The assessment is based on the Grade nine expectations in the provincial curriculum and is administered to students enrolled in applied or academic programs across the province. This assessment was administered in January 2009 to students in first-semester math courses and in June 2009 to students in second-semester. All information is current as of September 16, 2009.

The next Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics conducted by EQAO will take place between January 12-14, 2010 and between June 9-11, 2010. Please see the attached chart or for school-by-school results.

More detailed information regarding Board and school-by-school results can be found at www.durham.edu.on.ca or on the EQAO site www.eqao.com.

The Durham District School Board is responsible for public education in the rural settings of Uxbridge, Brock and Scugog Townships and the urban settings of Ajax, Whitby, Pickering and Oshawa. The Board employs more than 7,000 teaching and educational services staff. With 136 elementary and secondary schools and learning centres, the Board accommodates more than 70,740 regular day students and thousands more who take advantage of a wide variety of continuing education and adult credit courses. More information can be found on the Board's Website at www.durham.edu.on.ca.

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For more information, please contact:
Luigia Ayotte
Superintendent of Education/Program Services/Staff Development
Durham District School Board
phone: 905-666-6356