Elementary EQAO math scores drop, prompt renewed focus on basic math

Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) standardized test results released Wednesday show students in Grade 3 and Grade 6 are still struggling to make the grade when it comes to math.

Results from the Waterloo Region’s Catholic school board show Grade 3 scores in mathematics have dropped seven per cent over the past five years, and Grade 6 scores have dropped five per cent.

The numbers are on par with the provincial average, which saw no change in Grade 3 performances on the EQAO evaluation from 2013 to 2014, and a three per cent drop for Grade 6 students in the same period.

The Waterloo Catholic School Board is taking action, in the hope of improving students' fluency in mathematics.

"We're becoming more intentional about the skill development piece. We're implementing a strategy for teachers where we have 15 to 20 minutes a day of number sense routines, in order to increase number understanding, number relationship and flexibility of numbers,” said Maria Ivankovic, a superintendent of learning with the board.

That means daily class time for students in kindergarten to Grade 6 will be dedicated to teaching and reviewing basic mathematics skills.

"It is an intentional approach to looking at the arithmetic of mathematics. The multiplication piece, the arithmetic, when to add, when to subtract, when to multiply, when to divide," Ivankovic said.

In addition, some teachers took advantage of summer courses that were focused on teaching mathematics and were funded by the province.

But Donna Kotsopoulos, a professor of mathematics education at Wilfrid Laurier University's teacher's college, said the board's initiatives may not be enough.

"The evidence is clear that the number one factor impacting students' success is the quality of teaching. So even if we're talking about basic math 15 to 20 minutes a day, what is that going to look like from class to class? That will certainly have an impact on the outcome of students," said Kotsopoulos.

She said the province should be taking an in-depth look at how students are being taught mathematics and implement an Ontario-wide strategy to address the decline in mathematics comprehension.

The public school board’s elementary results will be released later on Wednesday. The secondary school EQAO results will be released on September 24.