As was done in the Fall, we conducted a second Grade 8 Proficiency-Based Assessment (PBA) through English classes to assess and compare student progress sce the start of the school year.

In the Fall, 71% of grade 8 students were either Developing or Emerging in overall literacy.  This number dropped to 63% in the Spring.  This overall improvement translated to growth in several areas that were measured in the PBAs:  Identifying Main Idea, Vocabulary & Word Skill, Reliability, Making Predictions, Note Taking.  Conducting this second PBA allowed us to assess the impact of the targeted literacy supports that were implemented earlier in the school year.  Again, reviewing the PBA results as a staff was chosen as a way to build a shared understanding of student literacy development enabling teachers to provide targeted support and reinforce effective literacy strategies across curricular areas.

While the Spring PBA results showed a slight improvement in overall literacy, there are still many students who are not yet demonstrating strong literacy skills, with most still performing at the Emerging or Developing level.  There is a need to continue targeted literacy instruction.

There has been slight growth in literacy development with the targeted literacy support strategies that were implemented.

We will focus on coordinating grade 8 teachers with regular grade 8 support meetings to discuss and share literacy teaching approaches and strategies.  We will also continue our assessment cycle by conducting regular PBAs to inform us on student literacy needs and the effectiveness of our targeted strategies.