Bluewater District School Board students are showing over all improvement according to provincial standardized testing.
The results of the 2016-2017 tests have just been released. With a few exceptions, Bluewater students meet or exceed provincial averages in reading writing and mathematics. For Board Chair Ron Motz, the important thing is Bluewater students are showing improvement.
"It is a positive message. We're going in the right direction as far as test results go we are improving. We're improving at a good rate," says Motz.
Motz notes the provincial testing is just one aspect of an overall process for determining students abilities. But he says the provincial testing is of value because it provides a benchmark for how the Bluewater students are doing compared to those across the province.
Assessments of reading, writing and mathematics took place this past spring. The number of Bluewater students in the Primary Division (Grades 1-3) who met or exceeded the provincial standard was higher in each area of the assessment. Both Primary Reading and Mathematics achievement results improved by 4% and primary writing results rose by 2%.
In the Junior Division (Grades 4-6), reading achievement results improved by 1%, junior writing results decreased slightly by 1%, and junior mathematics increased by 2%.
The Grade 9 academic mathematics achievement results remained strong but unchanged, while Grade 9 applied mathematics results improved slightly by 1%, once again surpassing the provincial average.
The Grade 10 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) achievement results also reflected a significant improvement, up by 4% over the previous year.
Bluewater’s five-year graduation rate has also continued to steadily increase since the early 2000s. The latest rate of 83.8% closely aligns with the provincial rate.