Reading levels among students in grades 1 to 3 in Holy Trinity Catholic School division are 13 percentage points higher than the provincial average, an indication of a post-pandemic bounce-back.
School divisions in Saskatchewan have been tracking student reading achievements in grades 1 to 3 as part of the provincial Education Sector Strategic Plan — which ended in 2020 — and as part of the ensuing interim provincial education plan, a recent board report explained. Students reading at grade level by the end of Grade 3 is a strong predictor of future success in school, and ultimately, graduation rates.
Data collected in June showed that Holy Trinity’s reading result for those three grades was 79 per cent compared to 66 per cent for the province — a 13-point difference, the data showed. However, that percentage is still below the division’s previous high of roughly 87 per cent during the 2018-19 school year.
“It is always nice to share great news,” education director Ward Strueby said about the recent data.
The ability to rebound post-pandemic illustrates the positive effect that in-class learning has on early readers, while classroom teachers’ great work has played a large role in the division’s reading success, the board report said.
Furthermore, Holy Trinity has maintained its margin above the provincial results by continuing its Levelled Literacy Intervention Program (LLI) — which provides additional support for students not yet reading at level — and by having introduced a new reading interventionist position in the 2021-22 year.
The division plans to continue supporting its early readers by extending its LLI program and the reading interventionist position into the 2022-23 school year.
“As the interim provincial education plan comes to an end this school year, and as we transition to a new long-term provincial education plan, we look forward to the role that early reading success will continue to play in this new plan,” the report added.
