Election Train IX

Another area McGinty didn't meet a promise or failed to suceed.......

Literacy at a standstill
Grade 10 marks haven't improved
By KEVIN CONNOR, SUN MEDIA

Most of Ontario's Grade 10 students have passed this year's provincial literacy test but they aren't getting any better.

Of the students taking the Education Quality and Accountability Office's Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test for the first time, 84% passed.

That's the same percentage as last year, and the first time since 2002 the overall pass rate hasn't risen.

The province needs to examine why the test results haven't risen, Education Minister Kathleen Wynne said.

"Those are the questions we have to ask," Wynne said. "We need to look at what's going on there. I see it as an opportunity."

More than 146,000 Grade 10 students in Ontario wrote the test in March.

"In order to see growth in the future, we must not only solidify the gains we've made but also use the testing data to focus support on those not yet meeting the standard," said Jerry Ponikvar, vice-chairman of EQAO's board of directors.