Adelaide Hoodless school continues to defy expectations on EQAO test

Every Grade 6 student at Adelaide Hoodless is writing at grade level.

The lower-city elementary school isn't the only one in Hamilton where 100 per cent of students met the provincial mark on that portion of the standardized EQAO test.

But, given its demographics, the achievement is remarkable.

Forty per cent of students at Hoodless, which is tucked in the quiet, leafy Blakeley neighbourhood near Main Street East and Sherman Avenue South, are from lower-income households, according to provincial data, a socioeconomic factor that typically coincides with lower student achievement.

Yet their scores are high - and not just in writing.

At Hoodless, 86 per cent of Grade 6 students met the provincial standard in reading on the 2021-22 Education Quality and Accountability Office assessment, while 68 per cent met the mark in math, significantly outpacing provincial and board averages in both categories. Meanwhile, the school's Grade 3s exceeded Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board averages in reading and math - although they fell short of provincial and board norms in writing.

This success isn't novel. In fact, Hoodless has for years defied expectations on EQAO. But no other school in Hamilton with similarly high results has a poverty rate of more than 20 per cent.

So what's happening at Hoodless?

Superintendent of education Bill Torrens wouldn't speak specifically to the school, but did point to experienced, highly skilled educators" and strong principal leadership" as factors leading to strong student outcomes.

Dedicated professionals make a difference for kids," he said. Where you see schools do very well, you can be confident that there's a strong classroom program underneath that data."

With high expectations, you can see that students from a variety of different socioeconomic communities can achieve at a high level," he said.

The board declined The Spectator's request for an interview with the principal, saying EQAO is a way to gauge" standards imposed by the province, not to compare schools or look into school practices," HWDSB spokesperson Shawn McKillop said in an email.

Experts agree many factors influence outcomes on the oft-criticized test administered annually by the province.

Demographic data, such as income, language and learning abilities, can offer clues, Steven Reid, a faculty member at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, previously told The Spec. For example, it takes several years to become proficient in another language, so schools with more English language learners may have lower results in the assessment, which is in English.

Similarly, ample research from across North America has found that students from lower-income families are often already trailing behind their affluent peers when they start school. Lack of support and access to resources at home, inconsistency and hunger can affect a child's ability to do well academically.

Adelaide Hoodless is the only high-priority school, a designation given to those in areas with greater socioeconomic challenges, to experience this level of success. In fact, only two others in the board - Flamborough Centre and Rousseau in Ancaster - achieved a result of 100 per cent in any subject.

The area surrounding the school is largely residential, with low-rise buildings and houses converted to apartments butting up against million-dollar detached homes.

Diverse schools with a healthy mix of income can have significant benefits for students on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum. Mixed-income schools also tend to do better than those with higher poverty rates, a 2012 Hamilton Community Foundation report found.

On the other side of Gage Park, half as many students at Memorial Elementary School, where 30 per cent of students are from low-income households, met the standard in writing.

Where we find that schools are having success, we do want to learn from it," Torrens said.

Staff share effective practices" through monthly principal and vice-principal learning sessions, advisory committees and mentorship to colleagues, he said.

Nine Catholic schools had grades where 100 per cent of students met the provincial standard in a subject.

At Blessed Sacrament Catholic Elementary School on the Mountain, 100 per cent of Grade 6 students met the standard in writing, 96 per cent met the standard in reading and 69 per cent met the standard in math - all results well above board and provincial averages.

We were surprised," said principal Rukshi Athulathmudali. It's not very easy to accomplish 100 per cent, no matter how outstanding the teacher is."

It's a test, she added, meaning there's always a chance kids will freeze" and won't do their best work.

Previously, the school achieved 77 in Grade 6 writing in 2018-19 and 82 in 2019-20.

The principal points to the test's new digital format, delivered to students for the first time in 2022, as a factor contributing to the above-average results. The very experienced" educators who taught Grade 6 last year are exceptional teachers who have moved technology in those classrooms," the principal said.

The children in both of those classes are very accustomed to working digitally," she said.

The principal said the school uses EQAO results to inform instruction and programming for the following year. Athulathmudali said she and her staff dig deep" into the outcomes, analyzing questions and sections where students have excelled or struggled to find out what is or isn't working.

If 70 per cent of your kids failed a particular question on the test ... what is it that they've missed in the instruction or the learning?" she asked, adding that it might mean reteaching a concept or teaching it a different way the following year.

Morris Hucal, superintendent of education with the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, said exceptional results are a testament to ... great teaching practices."

Results like these show educators are consistently implementing high-yield strategies," such as a focus on phonics and breaking students into smaller groups, challenging students to meet the 70-and-above standard set by the province, he said.

Hucal also said teachers with experience teaching Grade 3, 6 or 9 - the three levels at which the test is administered - have a leg up. They know the curriculum and types of EQAO questions, and embed that into their routines, activities and assessments in the lead-up to the test.

The board also says it makes an effort to learn from its results, having staff in schools with above-average results share best practices" with other teachers and consultants.

Hucal said much of this work was paused in recent years as staff prioritized responding to the challenges of the global pandemic. Now, the board is refocusing on intervention where students are behind and on board improvement and equity plans.

That's going to be our work," he said.

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

Top 5: Grade 3 writing

• St. Mark: 93%

• Balaclava: 92%

• Sir William Osler: 92%

• St. Paul: 91%

• Corpus Christi: 89%

Bottom 5: Grade 3 writing

• Cecil B. Stirling: 11%

• Parkdale: 19%

• Hillcrest: 20%

• G.L. Armstrong: 28%

• Westwood: 28%

HWDSB: 55%

HWCDSB: 73%

Province: 65%

Top 5: Grade 6 writing

• Adelaide Hoodless: 100%

• Blessed Sacrament: 100%

• Holy Name of Mary: 100%

• Our Lady of Peace: 100%

• Rousseau: 100%

• St. Bernadette: 100%

Bottom 5: Grade 6 writing

• Cathy Wever: 3%

• Buchanan Park: 9%

• Prince of Wales: 13%

• Dr. J.E. Davey: 15%

• St. Patrick: 15%

HWDSB: 75%

HWCDSB: 85%

Province: 84%