School Board Addresses Literacy Results

Mixed literacy test results for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.
530 students passed the 2011-2012 exam, which is up from the year before.
Queen Elizabeth High School in Sioux Lookout saw its best ever results with a 64% success rate, an improvement of 11%.
Red Lake and Dryden saw drops from historic numbers and now sit with a 71% success rate.
176 aboriginal students passed the course last year, which is 62 more from the previous year.
However, the gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal students remains a concern.
There’s a roughly 35% gap between First Nations Students and non-First Nations students on the success rate for first time test writers.
Some trustees believe more work is needed to help students.
Director of Education Jack McMaster says they are always looking to improve.
McMaster says teachers are working their tail off.
He says schools need to work together to improve test results.
Students have the option to either take the literacy test in grade 10, or take a literacy course which lasts a full semester.
Passing the exam is a mandatory part of getting a high school diploma.
Literacy testing was the hot button issue at Tuesday’s Board meeting in Dryden