Results of the 2025–2026 EQAO Assessments: WCDSB Students Show Strong Gains in Grade 3 and Grade 9

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) released the 2025–2026 assessment results for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB). The results show strong gains in Grade 3 literacy and numeracy, a significant one-year gain in Grade 9 mathematics, and continued strength on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT), where WCDSB students again outperformed the province.

Provincial results were largely steady this year, with most areas changing by about one percentage point. WCDSB’s gains were larger in several areas, including 5 percentage points in Grade 9 Mathematics, 3 in Grade 3 Writing and 2 in Grade 3 Reading.

These results reflect the dedication of our teachers, support staff and school leaders, working in partnership with parents, families and guardians. They also reflect the Board’s focused work through its Multi-Year Strategic Plan 2025–2030, its Literacy Support Action Plan and its Math Achievement Action Plan (MAAP).

“Behind every one of these results is a year of faithful teaching, careful planning and daily encouragement,” said Annalisa Varano, Director of Education and Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud of our students’ growth, particularly in Grade 3 and Grade 9. We also know there is more work to do, especially in junior mathematics. We will use these results as we always do: as a starting point for thoughtful, evidence-informed conversations about how we can continue to support every student entrusted to our care.”

Highlights

  • Grade 3 Reading (77%), Writing (68%) and Mathematics (67%) reached their highest levels in five years, and all three Grade 3 results exceeded the provincial results.
  • Grade 3 Mathematics improved for the third consecutive year.
  • Grade 6 Writing rose 2 percentage points to 84%, and Reading held steady at 84%.
  • Grade 9 Mathematics rose 5 percentage points to 58%, the Board’s largest one-year gain in five years.
  • 88% of first-time eligible students were successful on the OSSLT, above the provincial result of 86%. WCDSB has exceeded the province in four of the past five years.

Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding the Provincial Standard

Next Steps

The 2025–2026 results affirm the strategies already in place and show us where to deepen them. In our elementary schools, WCDSB will continue to advance MAAP priorities, with particular attention to mathematics in the junior grades. Through the Literacy Support Action Plan, schools will continue to implement evidence-based literacy practices from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

In our secondary schools, the work is guided by the Multi-Year Strategic Plan priority to Accelerate Excellence and Innovation While Building Future-Ready Skills, and the Student Achievement Plan priority of Achievement of Learning Outcomes in Core Academic Skills. Schools will use achievement data to inform planning, strengthen instructional practice and provide targeted supports that respond to each student’s needs. We remain committed to helping every student build strong literacy and numeracy foundations and step confidently into their future.

Understanding EQAO Results

EQAO assessments provide one important indicator of student learning, measured against a common provincial standard. They do not assess the whole child or the whole curriculum, and WCDSB uses them alongside many other sources of information to plan instruction. As EQAO advises, ranking schools or comparing individual schools without considering a range of factors is inappropriate and misleading.

Board, school and provincial results, including new cohort-tracking reports, are available at www.eqao.com.