Test results don’t add up

The latest round of province wide tests shows Grade 6 students in Ontario are beginning to slip in math. The scores were down two points in results released last week, showing that 59 per cent of students are meeting the provincial standard.

While the Education Quality and Accountability Office is generally pleased with the results, it admits there is some room for improvement. And the chair of the Office’s board says there is further attention needed in some areas, not to mention system wide interventions if we are to see continued progress.

Jacques Hurtubise, president of the Canadian Mathematical Society, agrees. He says math is a linear subject that requires constant attention and immediate intervention at the first sign of a decline.

“If you get off the bus early on in your student career, then it’s sort of hard to get back on,” Hurtubise tells 570’s Jeff Allan Show.

He goes on to explain that the scheme of learning has changed today and there are more people in schools, which means more students present with learning challenges and different needs.

“There’s probably no magic, one-size-fits-all solution to anything,” says Hurtubise.

He advocates a mutli-faceted approach that encompasses the learning styles of as many students as possible.

One thing Hurtubise will not tolerate is complaining.

“The thing you have to do is just deal with it,” he says matter of factly. “There’s lots of anecdotal evidence that says a very wide group of students can succeed if given the right treatment.”

Last week’s scores still fail to live up to the provincial Liberals’ 2003 campaign promise of seeing 75 per cent of students meet the standard.

Reading, writing and math results for Grade 3 and 6 students in Waterloo Region are due out next week. Standardized test results for Grade 9 math will also be released at that time.