MOOSE JAW — Reading levels in grades 2 and 3 in Prairie South School Division remained flat during the past two years, although writing levels in grades 4, 7 and 9 and math levels in Grade 2 increased year-over-year.
Division administration presented a learning accountability report during the recent board meeting that looked at data schools collected about reading, math and writing from last June.
Reading
The division gathers reading data twice a year for students in grades 1 to 3, with teachers using this data to assess students’ progress and help guide appropriate interventions or supports.
Data shows that at the end of June, 77.3 per cent of students in Grade 1 were reading at or above grade level, compared to 69.6 per cent of students in 2022-23, 68.8 per cent in 2021-22, 67.9 per cent in 2020-21 and 73.1 per cent in 2018-19.
Furthermore, data shows that at the end of the 2023-24 school year, 72.4 per cent students in Grade 2 were reading at or above grade level. This was an increase of 2.8 per cent from when they were in Grade 1 in 2022-23.
Meanwhile, Grade 2s’ reading levels in 2022-23 were 72.4 per cent, 72.2 per cent in 2021-22, 69.9 per cent in 2020-21 and 82 per cent in 2018-19.
Also, data shows that at the end of June, 70.1 per cent of Grade 3 students were reading at or above grade level. This was 2.3 per cent lower than when they were in Grade 2 in 2022-23 and 1.3 per cent higher than when they were in Grade 1 in 2021-22.
Writing
Teachers assess the writing of students in grades 4, 7 and 9 throughout the year and teach and examine various pieces of curriculum-related writing during the year.
Data show that 63.5 per cent of Grade 4 students were writing at or above grade level last year, compared to 58.5 per cent in 2022-23, 60.3 per cent in 2021-22 and 62.6 per cent in 2020-21.
In Grade 7, data show that 68.3 per cent of students were reading at or above grade level last year, which was 5.7-per-cent higher than when they were in Grade 4 in 2020-21.
Meanwhile, 66.1 per cent of Grade 7s were reading at or above grade level in 2022-23, 70.4 per cent in 2021-22, 65.9 per cent in 2020-21 and 65.5 per cent in 2018-19.
Data also show that 72.5 per cent of Grade 9 students were reading at or above grade level last year, which was 2.1-per-cent higher than when they were in Grade 7 in 2021-22.
Meanwhile, 65.5 per cent of Grade 9s were reading at or above grade level in 2022-23, 63.8 per cent in 2021-22, 67.3 per cent in 2020-21 and 65.1 per cent in 2018-19.
Math
Teachers in grades 2, 5 and 8 assess their students’ math abilities throughout the year, with the goal of building those skills for a final determination in June.
Data show that 74.3 per cent of Grade 2s were reading at or above grade level last year, compared to 70.9 per cent in 2022-23, 76 per cent in 2021-22, 74.3 per cent in 2020-21 and 76.6 per cent in 2018-19.
Furthermore, data shows that 67.4 per cent of Grade 5s were at or above grade level last year, which was a decline of 6.9 per cent when they were in Grade 2 in 2020-21.
Meanwhile, 70.1 per cent of such students were at or above grade level last year, 69.6 per cent in 2021-22, 66.9 per cent in 2020-21 and 63.5 per cent in 2018-19.
Data also shows 72.1 per cent of Grade 8s were at or above grade level last year, which was a 5.2-per-cent jump from when they were in Grade 5 in 2020-21.
Meanwhile, 72.5 per cent of such students were at or above grade level in 2022-23, 73.1 per cent in 2021-22, 76.3 per cent in 2020-21 and 71.1 per cent in 2018-19.
The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
