Thread by @msbjacobs

These Grade 9 EQAO Math scores are never talked about in the media. If there was a crisis in math education it would be seen in these scores too. And yet 84% of Grade 9 Academic students are scoring level 3 or above.

https://twitter.com/CarolCampbell4/status/1114012018367959040

For the 9 Applied students, it is 45% scoring level 3 or above. For those scoring level 2 or 1 there has been a huge increase in students improving upon their Grade 6 EQAO scores. And bear in mind that the EQAO test is not the fairest way to truly evaluate an applied student.

So why the lower Grade 6 scores? Many reasons, but one that is never talked about is the make up of the test:
in Gr 3 there are 12 Knowledge Qs, 16 Application Qs and 8 Thinking Qs;
in Gr 6, there are 8 Knowledge Qs, 16 Application Qs and 12 Thinking Qs

In other words, the Grade 6 test has less of the easier Knowledge Qs, and more of the harder Thinking questions. Of course the Grade 6 scores are going to be lower than the Grade 3 scores

Since each question is weighted differently depending upon whether or not it is MC or open response the actual raw score %age breakdown is:
Gr 3 Knowledge 20% Application 47% Thinking 33%
Gr 6 Knowledge 13% Application 47% Thinking 40%

And from EQAO's own data, we know that our students are far more successful on the Knowledge questions and less so on the Thinking questions. This is true for adults as well. So imagine how much better the scores would look if we gave even equal weighting to these categories.

Now I am not the sort of person to sit on my laurels and say that we cannot get better: all my career I have strived to become a better teacher than I was the previous year. I have worked with many teachers, principals, students and parents to improve their math understanding...

...and I know that as a province we are moving in the right direction but that our educators and our parents still need a lot more math support. This requires the same investment that was given to literacy years ago.

And yet I hear politicians with no background in math education talking about testing teachers and going back to basics and it is clear to me that these people are both morally and intellectually bankrupt.

As a parent, I must inform my fellow parents that this government is blatantly lying to you. If they continue with their proposed 'plan' for education, our children's future well-being and happiness is at serious risk.