A block apart, two east Mountain elementary schools show dramatically different EQAO results

Tucked away in a residential east Mountain neighbourhood, elementary schools St. Kateri Tekakwitha and Cecil B. Stirling are a block apart. Yet, the Catholic school dramatically outperformed its public counterpart in four of six EQAO categories.

The differences are particularly stark in Grade 3 literacy. Just 33 per cent of the youngest test takers at C.B. are reading at grade level - the second-lowest in the board - compared with 72 per cent at St. Kateri. In writing, the same C.B. cohort also struggled, with 11 per cent meeting the provincial standard in the 2021-22 Education Quality and Accountability Office assessment, compared with 60 per cent at St. Kateri.

Why?

It raises very good questions about who are the learners in the building," said Bill Torrens, superintendent of program for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

He points to the rate of English-language learners, specialized programming, size and scope of catchment area and teacher experience as factors that play a role in a school's outcome in the standardized test.

We're in one large community, but ... we may be serving significantly different school communities," he said.

Indeed, the schools have distinct demographics.

C.B. Stirling has a 30 per cent poverty rate and 10 per cent of students are in special education programs. Forty per cent speak a first language other than English. By contrast, St. Kateri's student population is 30 per cent low income, with 20 per cent in special education programs and 10 per cent who speak a first language other than English.

Rate and level of English-language learners in a class can have a significant impact" on standardized test results, Torrens said.

All students, including English language learners, are expected to meet the rigorous challenges of the Ontario curriculum," reads a Ministry of Education teacher guide.

And most students write EQAO. Less than three per cent of elementary students at the public board and about 3.5 per cent at the Catholic board were exempt from writing EQAO in 2021-22.

Those who are starting to learn English for the first time, often in their first or second year in Canada, may be exempted as the test might not provide anything meaningful in terms of understanding your achievement," Torrens said. But learners who are more advanced are required to take the assessment, meaning results might be a reflection of where you are in acquiring English," Torrens said.

It typically takes five to seven years to achieve grade-level literacy and language skills, Torrens said.

Over time, English language learners catch up" to their peers in their ability to use the language for academic purposes," a Ministry of Education document reads. This means a beginner English learner in Grade 1 might be proficient in Grade 6.

In the case of these two schools, the gap between them appears to shrink in Grade 6, with the public school surpassing the Catholic school by several percentage points in math and writing. In Grade 6 reading, C.B. trailed behind St. Kateri by 18 percentage points.

The public board declined The Spectator's request for an interview with C.B.'s principal.

Though a stone's throw from each other, the schools have distinct catchment areas - a possible explanation for their dissimilar student populations.

St. Kateri's school boundaries stretch from the Lincoln Alexander Parkway to Rymal Road East between Upper Gage Avenue and Upper Ottawa Street, while C.B.'s boundaries cover more territory from east to west - Upper Gage to Anchor Road, near the Red Hill Valley Parkway - and about half the north-south distance, from the Linc to Stone Church Road East.

Still, the discrepancy between the Mountain schools follows a board-wide trend in which Catholic schools in Hamilton regularly outperform public schools in provincial assessments, as well as other indicators, like graduation rates.

Overall, a higher rate of Catholic students met the provincial standard than in the rest of Ontario in 2021-22. By contrast, the public board fell below the provincial average in all categories by no less than seven per cent.

Steven Reid, a faculty member at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, previously told The Spec the first thing" he looks at when comparing results is demographics.

When we look at the two boards, they're very, very different," he said of the city's largest school boards.

The public board has about 27 per cent English language learners in Grade 3, 29 per cent in Grade 6 and 19 per cent in Grade 9, compared with between only five and eight per cent at the Catholic board.

Reid also pointed to poverty levels and learning abilities among students. For example, the public board had a higher percentage of students with special needs participate in EQAO in 2021-22. Historically, the HWDSB has had higher rates of students from low-income backgrounds.

Choice may have something to do with it, as well. Wilfrid Laurier University's David Johnson, who has studied student achievement at Ontario public and Catholic schools, told The Spectator in 2014 that choosing Catholic school - over the default public school - implies a level of parent engagement, a factor in student achievement.

But former longtime HWDSB trustee Judith Bishop isn't convinced demographics alone explain achievement discrepancies between boards. Differing pedagogies, leadership, community partnerships and parent engagement also play a role.

If you have a strong principal, it develops a culture that all children are capable of doing well," she said.

Bishop said, from her observations, the HWDSB has not been a big advocate of teaching phonics," an approach that matches sounds to letters.

Only if a child was falling really, really behind would they give a very phonics-based approach to teaching reading," she said.

Bishop wonders whether there would be further improvements if the board had taken advantage of more resources and used different approaches.

Reading has been a key area of focus for the board in recent years, including hiring specialists to support early reading from kindergarten to Grade 1. After-school and summer tutoring has also been offered to close gaps."

Improvement in Grade 6 reading at high-priority schools suggests there have been some gains. Bishop said it's the only category where's been substantial continuous improvement" - a 29 per cent increase since 2008.

Still, the HWDSB fell below the provincial average in reading by eight percentage points in Grade 3 and seven percentage points in Grade 6.

It's still a big gap," Bishop said.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com

Top 5: Grade 3 reading

• St. Teresa of Avila: 100%

• Flamborough Centre: 100%

• St. Mark: 98%

• St. Agnes: 96%

• Corpus Christi: 95%

Bottom 5: Grade 3 reading

• Parkdale: 31%

• Cecil B. Stirling: 33%

• Queen Victoria: 35%

• Hillcrest: 35%

• Memorial: 36%

HWDSB: 66%

HWCDSB: 81%

Province: 73%

Top 5: Grade 6 reading

• Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 100%

• Our Lady of Peace: 100%

• Holy Name of Mary: 97%

• St. Bernadette: 96%

• Blessed Sacrament: 96%

Bottom 5: Grade 6 reading

• Hess Street: 48%

• St. Ann (Hamilton): 50%

• Prince of Wales: 52%

• Buchanan Park: 53%

• Lake Avenue: 56%

HWDSB: 77%

HWCDSB: 85%

Province: 85%