Limestone Board Touts EQAO Results, But Some Schools Still Lag

In a media release, the Limestone District School Board (LDSB) said that its elementary and secondary schools did very well in the recently released Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) testing results, which were based on testing done last spring during the 2024-2025 school year.

LDSB’s EQAO results align with provincial outcomes in many areas, while showing notable improvements in others and among specific student groups. Limestone’s 2024-2025 results are at, or above, the provincial average in almost all measures,” said the release.

“Results show an upward trend and momentum across all eight areas of assessment for students in Grades 3, 6, 9, and 10, including those with special education needs, underscoring the Board’s intention of making a positive difference in the lives of every student, in every classroom, in every school.”

Looking at the school by school data for the 7 elementary and 3 secondary school panels in Frontenac County and Addington Highlands, there is a variation in results from school to school.

In terms of the grade 10 literacy test, for example, 84% of students in the Limestone Board as a whole who took the test, passed it, which is in line with the provincial average of 85%. Students in Sydenham High School (SHS) had an 86% pass rate, which was up from the year before. The pass rate was only 71% at Granite Ridge in Sharbot Lake for this year, down from 91% the year before. At North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne, the pass rate was 70%, up from 64% last year.

In the grade 9 math test, 55% of Limestone students scored either a 3 or a 4. A 3 score indicates that the student meets the standard for their grade level, and a 4 indicates they exceed the standard. Seventy one percent of SHS students scored at least a 3, down from 74% the year before. Only 16% of Granite Ridge Grade 9 students scored 3 or higher, down from 35% last year. At North Addington, 64% met the standard this year, up from only 29% a year earlier.

(It should be noted that the lower numbers of students at both Granite Ridge, and North Addington, mean that the percentages in the results are a less reliable indicator than it would be if there were more students being tested. This is reflected in wild fluctuations in the results from year to year at those schools. This reality is also reflected in the results for some of the smaller schools listed below under the elementary panel.)

In the elementary panel, students are tested in grades 3 and 6, in math, reading, and writing.

For students in the board as a whole, among grade 3 students, 75% were at or above grade level in reading, and 65% in both writing and math.

Among grade 6 students, 88% met the standard in reading, 86% in writing, and lagged somewhat in math with a 51% score.

These board wide numbers are similar to those in some Frontenac schools, but not all of them.

At North Addington Education Centre, 79% of grade 6 students met both the reading and writing standard, and 32% met the math standard. Among the grade 3 students, 67% met the reading and writing standard, and 43% the math standard.

At Granite Ridge in Sharbot Lake, 58% of grade 6 students met the standard in both reading and writing, and 16% met the math standard. Sixty seven percent of the grade 3 students at Granite Ridge met the reading standard, 57% met the writing standard, and 57% met the math standard.

Grade 6 students at Prince Charles PS in Verona met the standard 79% of the time in reading and writing, and 57% in math, but grade 3 students had more difficulty with the test. Sixty three percent met the standard in reading, 84% in writing, and 32% in math.

At Harrowsmith PS, 94% of grade 6 students were at the standard in reading and writing, and 56% in math. Grade 3 students at Harrowsmith were above the Limestone average as well, 83% at the standard in reading, 81% in writing, and 76% in math.

At Loughborough PS in Sydenham, 89% of grade 6 students passed the reading threshold, 96% the writing level, and 71% in math. Among grade 3 students, 74% passed the reading threshold, 76% for writing, and 76% for math.

Grade 6 students at Perth Road PS, saw 86% of students reach the reading standard, 94% the writing standard, and 39%, the math standard. Among the grade 3 students, 88% reached the reading standard, 60% met the writing standard, and 74% for math.

All of the grade 6 students at Storrington PS (100%) were at grade level or higher, in both reading and writing, and 60% in math. The grade 3 students did not fare as well on the test, with 65% at grade level for reading, 48% for writing, and 39% for math.

The results from both Clarendon Central School in Plevna, and Land O’Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove were not posted, because both schools have too few students to compile statistically significant results.

"These results reflect the daily dedication of Limestone educators, educational assistants, program teams, and school leaders,” said Krishna Burra, LDSB Director of Education in the LDSN release. “I want to acknowledge the efforts of those who have focused on implementing evidence-informed practices, providing targeted supports, and collaborating across schools to ensure student achievement and success.”

“We are proud of this progress, and we are committed to sustaining it by continuing the practices that work and adjusting where they do not,” he added. “Our goal remains steady improvement over time, not one-year spikes, for every student, in every classroom, in every school.”