The largest school board in the region reported some modest improvements in standardized test scores compared to last year, but overall results still lag behind the provincial averages.
On Friday, the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) made public its results for assessments that evaluate how Ontario students are doing in reading, writing, and math across Grades 3, 6, 9, and 10.
Trustee Leroy Osbourne from Thames Valley District school board expressed his “frustration” with these findings after losing his authority when the board came under provincial oversight.
In April 2025, the Ministry of Education placed the school board under provincial supervision following a costly three-day retreat held by senior officials in Toronto during the summer of 2024.
“This is another example that the supervision is not working,” he said. “Parents and staff are telling us that class sizes are growing; their child is not getting proper support at school and in general resources are being taken away.”
Thames Valley District school board trustee Leroy Osbourne is shown during a debate on May 23, 2023. (Free Press file photo)
However, the board claims it has achieved “significant improvement in six out of eight assessments… including historic five-year highs across all assessments.”
These scores represent “the board’s highest results since EQAO assessments were modernized in 2021-22,” as stated in their release.
“Thames Valley is continuing to put student achievement first. The significant improvements we’re seeing in this year’s EQAO results are a direct reflection of that focus,” said Thames Valley CEO Kevin Auckland.
“These results would not be possible without the dedicated educators and administrators who have implemented school-based EQAO support plans across the district.”
The London District Catholic school board announced it has experienced “its strongest period of elementary achievement on record.”
This school board met or exceeded provincial averages across every category except for Grade 9 math.
“Five of six elementary measures have reached historic highs, while Grade 6 mathematics has nearly returned to its highest historical level,” spokesperson Mark Adkinson noted.
“Literacy achievement remains exceptionally strong, mathematics achievement continues to improve across the system, and OSSLT (Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test) outcomes remain well above pre-pandemic levels.”
Adkinson emphasized that while this data “represents a single point-in-time measure,” it still indicates progress.
“These results provide encouraging evidence that the collective focus on effective classroom instruction, responsive intervention, and continuous improvement is having a positive impact on student achievement,” he explained.
More than 569,000 students throughout Ontario took part in EQAO assessments.
“The number of students meeting the provincial standard in mathematics has slowly increased over time, but mathematics remains an area requiring attention as many students are not meeting the provincial standard,” according to an EQAO release.
Last year’s disappointing standardized test outcomes prompted a province-wide review of student learning ordered by Education Minister Paul Calandra. He postponed releasing those scores by several weeks.
HRivers@postmedia. com
Local EQAO Results for 2024-25 and 2025-26
(Provincial averages are shown in brackets with earlier years listed first.)
Thames Valley District School Board
Grade 3
Math : 60% (64), 62% (65)
Reading : 67% (74), 69% (75)
Writing : 56% (65), 60% (67)
Grade 6
Math : 50% (51), 50% (52)
Reading : 82% (86), 82% (86)
Writing : 81% (85), 82% (85)
Grade 9 Math
52 % (58), 55 % (59)
ONTARIO SECONDARY SCHOOL LITERACY TEST
77 % (85), 82 % (86)
LONDON DISTRICT CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD
GRADE GRADE
Math: 66 % %(64) , 69% %(65)
READING: 76 % %(74 ), 79 % %(75)
WRITING: 70 % %(65), 73 % %(67)
GRADE GRADE 6
