With EQAO student math scores steadily declining across the province, the Thames Valley District School Board has developed a strategic plan to tackle the issue.
In an open letter to the local community, Director of Education Laura Elliott says the Thames Valley Math Strategic Plan aims to support students, parents, teachers and principals, with the ultimate goal of ensuring student success in mathematics. The plan will focus on four priorities: increasing student achievement, building math leadership, involving parents in their child's learning, and improving the ability of educators with increased skills and knowledge.
Elliott says it's critical that the school board, parents and the rest of the community work together to solve this challenge.
"Our results are below provincial standard and in terms of what's happened across the province, the results are not where we want our students to be," she says. "We want all of our students to excel in reading, writing and mathematics at a very high level."
Elliott says the Ministry of Education has also taken steps to help improve student mathematics scores in Ontario with their Renewed Math Strategy, which was introduced in April. She says the strategy includes an investment of $2-million for Thames Valley schools and the school board.
"They have funded professional development for our teachers and administrators... to ensure that our math results improve," she says.
Elliott says the investment will go towards teacher professional development, and to hire additional teachers for mathematics instruction.
"It's not only working with our staff around the content, knowledge and skills around mathematics, but it's also looking at the best instructional strategies, in terms of the teaching/learning process with our students," she says.
Over the past three years, EQAO math scores for students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 in the Thames Valley District School Board have slumped.
The Grade 3 results of the 2015-2016 tests showed 54% of students met the standard in math (63% provincial average). For Grade 6, it was 44% in math (50% provincial average), while Grade 9 results showed 44% met the provincial standard in applied math (45% provincial average), and 82% met the standard in academic math (83% provincial average).
-With files from Scott Kitching
