Sep 17, 2008 - 04:03 PM

By Crystal Crimi

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DURHAM -- Grade 3 and 6 provincial test results released Wednesday show gains and losses for Durham's public and Catholic school boards.

The Durham Catholic and Durham district school boards are above or near the provincial average for the percentage of students reaching or exceeding the provincial standard in reading, writing, and math, according to the Education Quality and Accountability Office's (EQAO) 2007/2008 school board results. The standard is a Level 3 or 4 on EQAO tests - equivalent to a 'B' or higher.

"It should be heartening to (parents) that their children are receiving the types of programs that meet their needs," said Luigia Ayotte, the public board's superintendent of programs.

In Ajax's Duffin's Bay Public School, there's been some big improvements. Its Grade 3 results went up to 81 per cent in reading from 57 the previous year, 87 from 71 in writing, and 87 from 74 in math. In Grade 6, it fell to 61 per cent from 68 in reading, rose to 58 from 49 in writing, and went from 41 to 36 in math.

"We're thrilled with our results as we always are," said Andrea Della Torre, Duffin's Bay principal.

"And I credit our staff," she said.

They were a little surprised at the junior math results though.

"And concerned," she said.

Staff have already met to discuss the results and when they get more detailed data, they'll see where students struggled.

"Then we'll have more specific details on which direction to take," Ms. Della Torre said. The percentage drop could also be a reflection of this year's smaller math class, she said.

Students also made big gains at Bellwood Public School in Whitby.

In Grade 3, reading went from 75 per cent up to 84; writing from 71 to 74; and math from 80 to 97. Grade 6 results changed from 51 per cent to 69 in reading, 35 to 76 in writing, and down one point to 41 from 42 the previous year.

"We were all very excited," said Karen Smith, Grade 3 teacher at Bellwood. "We took great pride in it as a primary division at Bellwood that those students were that prepared and able to get that information down onto a paper in that amount of time."

In the public board as a whole, the percentage of Grade 6 students that met the standard increased to 70 per cent from 65 in reading, 68 from 59 in writing, and to 60 from 57 in math. For Grade 6 Catholic students, 73 per cent met the standard in reading, up two percentage points from the previous year; 71 per cent in writing - up four points; and 69 in math, up three points.

The public board did a five-year review of the EQAO test results and saw big gains for reading and writing for Grade 3 students.

"We made a 12 per cent gain in reading, 13 per cent in writing, and seven in math," said Ms. Ayotte.

In the Durham District School Board, the percentage of Grade 3 students meeting or doing better than the standard stayed the same in reading, at 63 per cent, rose four percentage points to 67 in writing, and dropped two points to 67 in math. The Durham Catholic District School Board's results were 67 per cent in reading, 70 in writing, and 75 in math.

In Grade 3 reading, the Catholic board went down two percentage points and up one for math.

"The results are in line with how we've been doing over the past number of years," said Paul Pulla, the Catholic board's director of education.

"When you have a plus or minus two per cent, one can say you're just sustaining the same results," Mr. Pulla said.

"But overall, I think one can say there's been steady improvement," he said.

The provincial average for Grade 3 students is 61 per cent in reading, 66 in writing, and 68 in math. In Grade 6, it's 66 in reading, 67 in writing, and 61 in math.

Grade 9 math numbers rose to 33 from 24 per cent in applied, and from 62 to 68 in academic for the Catholic board. The public board had 68 per cent meet the standard in academic and 36 per cent in applied. The provincial average is 75 per cent for academic, 34 per cent for applied.