What is PISA?

The Program for Student Assessment (PISA) is an international test organized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The test measures 15-year-old students’ abilities in reading, mathematics and science. The first PISA test was given in 2000 and repeated every three years since. The most recent exam was in 2022. In 2022, 81 countries participated, with 23,000 Canadian high school students writing the test in 867 schools from all 10 provinces in Canada.

The exam is meant to look at education on a global scale and improve education policies at the national level. Using the results helps countries track their students’ performance over time to view trends.

Canadian PISA Results 2022 At-A-Glance

How did Canadian students perform on the PISA exams?

According to the OECD, mathematics, reading, and science have all declined significantly since the test began in 2000. PISA results in Canada show Canada’s overall scores declined as follows:

• Math scores by 15 points
• Reading scores by 13 points
• Science scores by 3 points

Given that the pandemic occurred between the last exam in 2018 and the current 2022 exam, the decline is not that surprising. However, pandemic learning loss alone is not to blame for an overall trend that sees a decline in student performance. The OECD report points out that science and reading scores were already declining before the pandemic. Additionally, a few countries such as Belgium, Finland, and France and Canada already had a math downward trend.

Canada Not Alone

Other countries also saw performance decline in math, reading and science:

Across all participating countries:

• the average math score fell by about 15 points since the 2018 tests.
• the average reading score fell by about 10 points since the 2018 tests.
• the average science score remained relatively stable.

While overall student performance declines, Canada as a nation still performs well, scoring 497 in math; 507 in reading; 515 in science.

Oxford Learning Can Help

A personalized tutoring program is a proven way to help students become better than the statistics and beat the performance odds, bringing their personal baseline for performance up.

Customized math and reading programs help students identify the areas in need of the most attention and help students build strong skills to help them perform at their best, both in school, and on international exams.

Contact an Oxford Learning near you to learn more about our customized programs.

The post What PISA Results Mean For Canadian Students appeared first on Oxford Learning.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) provides Ontario student assessment data. The 2021-2022 EQAO results provide a snapshot of how students are doing after two years of pandemic learning disruptions. While these results may be based in Ontario, they have implications for students in every province across Canada.

 What is the EQAO?

The EQAO is a set of standardized tests administered by schools in grades 3, 6, 9 and 10. The tests measure reading, writing, and math performance against a set of provincial standards. 

• Grade 3: Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics 
• Grade 6: Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics
• Grade 9: Assessment of Mathematics; and
• Grade 10: The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

The EQAO tests give information about how students are performing when compared to a standard for their level. As well as providing the province insights about the provincial curriculum, these tests work to ensure that students are getting a high-quality education and to keep public education accountable to taxpayers.

While the assessment results don’t affect students’ individual overall grades, they can, however, point to trends in student performance and indicate trouble areas. Let’s take a look at what the current results indicate.

2022 EQAO Results At a Glance

This is the first year since the pandemic that students could take these standardized tests. Across the board, student performance results were lower than results from the previous test.

Third-Grade Results:

• Reading: small drop from the previous test: 77% down to 73%
• Writing: larger drop from the previous test:  72% down to 65%
• Math: minor drop from the previous testing year: 60 down to 59%

Only 59 % of Grade 3 students met the province’s math standard.

Toronto.ctvnews.ca

Sixth-Grade Results:

• Reading: increase from the previous testing year: 85%, up from 83%
• Writing: results stayed the same from the previous testing year: 84%
• Math: results dropped from the previous testing year: 50% down to 47%
  

Only 47% of Grade 6 students met the provincial math standard.

Thestar.com

Ninth-Grade Math Test Results

• Results for the math test only: Math results dropped from the previous testing year: 75% down to 52%

Only 52% of Grade 9 students met the provincial math standard.

Tenth Grade Literacy

The tenth-grade literacy test known as the OSSLT will take place from Wednesday, November 2, to Wednesday, December 7, 2022, with individual student results reported by end of January 2023. source

What Every Province Can Learn from Ontario’s EQAO Results

The assessment results show a steady decline in the overall performance for all students at the levels tested. Math scores are down. Reading performance has declined. Writing skills have dropped for third grade and remained stagnant for sixth grade.

While Ontario’s EQAO provincial assessment results do not directly impact students’ grades, the results can be a strong indicator for parents in every province about the areas where students may be struggling and need extra help.

With student progress reports for Grades 1-8 due between October 20 and November 20, the EQAO results serve as a head’s up for parents about where their child may be underperforming.

Catch-Up Payments Offer $200 Financial Help For Tutoring

Ontario’s Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced financial help for student tutoring to help students strengthen their math skills.

Parents with school-aged children up to 18 years old can apply for payments on the Catch Up Payments site of $200 for each child, while parents with school-aged children with special education needs up to the age of 21, can apply for $250, Lecce said.

Use Catch-Up Payments at Oxford Learning!

If you are looking for a long-term, quality tutoring solution for your child to help them catch up and recover pandemic learning losses, the $200 catch-up payment from the province is a great starting point!

Applying this $200 payment toward getting your child a cognitive learning assessment at Oxford Learning ensures that your child will strengthen their reading, writing and math skills.

The research shows that tutoring plays an essential role in overcoming pandemic learning loss. Tutoring allows for customized instruction, provides detailed, timely feedback, and generates personalized engagement, care, and mentoring, which is often less possible in large group settings.

If you have been waiting for a reason to enrol your child, the EQAO results are your sign to get started!

Find a location near you and enrol today!

If you are not located near a location, our Virtual Table Online Learning Program brings the tutoring to you virtually! Simply contact any location to enrol.

The post What Ontario’s 2022 EQAO Results Mean for Students in Every Province. appeared first on Oxford Learning.

We are honoured to receive the Gold Award of Excellence for traditional (brick and mortar) 100+ franchise locations. The top tier of franchise achievement in Canada, this award recognizes excellence in franchise operations.

Additionally, this year Oxford Learning is exceptionally proud to receive our fifth Franchisees’ Choice Designation Award.

The Franchisees’ Choice Designation (FCD) honours Franchisors with exceptional rankings in franchisee satisfaction. The CFA distributed a voluntary survey that asked Oxford Learning franchisees from coast to coast to evaluate their Franchisor. The survey evaluated criteria such as corporate leadership, effective marketing, training, company communication, and perhaps most importantly, how franchisees feel about being part of this Oxford Learning organization.

This award is a marker of excellence for the Oxford Learning Head Office and the incredibly dedicated and successful Oxford Learning Franchisees. When parents see this award proudly displayed in their local community Learning Centres, it is a wonderful reminder that they made the right decision to provide their child with access to the very best supplemental education program available.

“We are beyond thrilled to have received such amazing recognition from the CFA again this year. To have grown from the Bronze Award in 2019 to the Gold Award in 2021 represents our entire organization’s tireless commitment to delivering excellence across all aspects of our franchise organization. We would not be able to achieve anything without our amazing franchisees and their dedicated work over the past year and every year. These awards are truly an amazing recognition of every Oxford Learning franchisee and the excellence they provide their communities each day,”

Lenka Whitehead, President, Oxford Learning Centres, Inc.

Nearly Four Decades of Canadian Achievement

Founded in 1984, Oxford Learning is extremely proud to be active participants in hundreds of communities across Canada, supporting students and their families both inside and outside the classroom. We are also proud to offer an exclusive, Canadian-developed curriculum and to contribute to the diverse Canadian workforce. But mostly, we are proud of helping hundreds of thousands of Canadian students realize their dreams through better grades, improved confidence, and brighter futures.

The post Oxford Learning Wins Gold Award From the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) appeared first on Oxford Learning.

For the third consecutive year, Oxford Learning has been awarded a Franchisees’ Choice Designation. The Franchisees’ Choice Designation (FCD) honours CFA member franchise systems with exceptional rankings in franchisee satisfaction. Franchisees’ Choice Designees are companies that exceed the benchmark standard in the CFA Awards Program survey. It is an honour to be recognized by our franchisees for the third year in a row for exemplary business standards. We proudly add the 2020 award badge to our website this year.

While it was the third time that Oxford Learning won the Franchisees’ Choice Designation, 2020 marks the first time that Oxford Learning won two other very important prestigious awards from the CFA—The Franchisee of The Year Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Franchisee of the Year Award, category Gold, was awarded to Oxford Learning franchisee Seema Ahluwalia. Seema and her husband Indar operate the Oxford Learning Kitsilano, Steveston, and Richmond, BC locations. Seema was also the second-place runner-up in the Top Franchisee in the World competition held in January held by the CFA along with The Business Exchange. This is only the second time that the Canadian Franchise Association offered this award, and we are thrilled that a member of our franchise community was the recipient of this prestigious award. Oxford Learning would like to extend its congratulations to Seema on securing this award in recognition of her outstanding work in her centres, her contributions to her community, and for being a superstar ambassador for the Oxford Learning brand.

The 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes exceptional achievement and contribution to both Canadian franchising and the community at large through demonstrated excellence throughout one’s lifetime and career in franchising. 

We could not be more proud that Oxford Learning’s founder and former CEO, Dr. Nick Whitehead, is the recipient of this award this year. Nick founded Oxford Learning in 1984 as a single learning centre in London, ON. The first franchise location opened in 1991 in Burlington, ON. Since that time, Oxford Learning has grown to more than 125 locations across Canada, with additional locations in the Caribbean and the Middle East, and a US division operating as GradePower Learning.

It was Dr. Whitehead’s vision, passion, and engagement with the learning process that brought Oxford Learning to life; his charisma and warmth attracted—and continues to attract—prospective franchisees to the company, and it is his unwavering commitment to helping children realize their fullest potential in both school and in life that is the underlying drive behind every successful Oxford Learning franchise location.

We wish to congratulate both Seema Ahluwalia and Dr. Whitehead for receiving these awards from the Candian Franchise Association. 

While the CFA Awards Ceremony was canceled this year due to Covid-19, we created this video for Nick to show our appreciation and to celebrate his legacy.

The post Oxford Learning Receives Three Canadian Franchise Association Awards appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Here are some of our favourite online learning resources this week:

National Parks of the US

See volcanoes in Hawaii. Go spelunking in caves. Repel in ice crevices…

Learn about the importance of national parks while discovering the wonders of the natural world. A site with great visuals, kids of all ages will love taking this virtual adventure! 

Art for Kids

Cutting. Pasting. Colouring. Painting. Creating… let the little artist inside your child shine with creative expression with The Art for Kids Hub. Art and crafting help kids develop many learning skills such as following direction, focus and attention, and creative thinking. 

Check out the colouring printouts or the learn to draw lessons by age!

IXL Immersive Learning 

Featuring comprehensive math and language training for K-12, IXL takes learning out of the workbook and onto the web. Not only does it have a cool name (say the letters IXL out loud: “I excel!”) but the site lets you choose problems by grade and topic. This is a paysite, but it does allow a certain number of free problems per day.

Check it out! 

K5 Learning 

With cursive writing dropped from most schools’ curriculum, many kids are at a loss when they encounter cursive writing. Writing cursive isn’t just for the olden days! The benefits of good handwriting practice include increased brain activation in a variety of subjects! 

Help your kids learn how to perfect their penmanship with these free downloadable worksheets:

Canadian Olympic School Program

If your child is an Olympic hopeful, this site is for you! Written by teachers, the COSP offers over 100 free online education lessons that are pedagogically sound, inspire Olympic values, and engage Canadians in adopting and maintaining healthy active lifestyles. With customizable options for grades and topics including literacy, mental fitness, physical activity, and social studies, you can bring the Olympic spirit to life right at home! 

Famous People Reading to Children

Search the hashtag #OperationStorytime and you’ll find videos of both famous authors and actors reading beloved children’s books. But if you don’t feel like searching, website Romper has rounded them up for you in one handy post. It’s a great way to help your kids get all the mental benefits of storytime but from a screen. It won’t be the same as reading to your child directly from a book, but it’s the next best thing. 

Dog on a Log

Even the most favourite games and books get boring after a while. Offering reading resources using phonics for young or struggling readers, Dog on a Log’s free printables (especially the board games and card games) can make practising reading a lot of fun. There’s even a free reading skill assessment tool you can use.

Check it out!

We hope you enjoyed our online learning resource roundup for this week! Be sure to like and share this post with other parents!

The post Online Learning Resource Roundup appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Whether it’s because of weather, strikes, scheduled vacations, or school shutdowns such as we’re experiencing right now during the Coronavirus pandemic, when school is on a break, one of the first things to be affected is the regular routine. 

It’s OK To Ditch Routines Occasionally 

There are times to ditch to the routine and celebrate spontaneity, such as during special events, holidays, or visits with loved ones. During times of crises when the entire world is operating on an unfamiliar schedule, letting the routine slide temporarily in order to create opportunities to connect with each other, feel our emotions, and reduce stress is not only ok, it’s necessary. 

While letting the regular routine slide can at first seem exciting, as time goes on, the excitement about the lack of structure wears off quickly, which—as any parent of a young child knows—can lead to challenging behaviour. Schedule disruptions can also affect older students: this can look like declining motivation, feelings of insecurity about the world around them, or uncertainty about what’s expected of them.

Routines Create Calm and Consistency Amid Chaos

It’s normal for kids of all ages to be fearful of the unknown, whether they are trying a new food or starting a new school. While change is often a learning opportunity, it can also be stressful for children. A routine brings calm and consistency to a child’s life and helps them understand what happens next. Read more

• Sleep routines keep bodies on a regular cycle
• Chore routines help kids learn responsibility
• Routines help children develop independence and learn to take initiative
• Routines help children learn how to manage their own tasks
• Routines offer stability in times of uncertainty

Now that March Break is over, how can families reinstate something that approximates the normal routine? A daily schedule is the answer! 

Kids of all ages are already used to following a schedule at school, so creating a roadmap for what the days ahead will look like can help bring a sense of normalcy during times of disruption.

 5 Tips to Set a Routine at Home For Structure And Normalcy

Here’s how to create a routine at home that not only provides structure to the day but also will make the eventual transition back to the classroom smoother.

1. Structure around the school day. How does the school day normally go for your child? When do your kids eat at school? When is recess? Using these questions as a guide, make decisions about how the day at home should look.
2. Add play and fun to the schedule. School days are not all book learning and taking notes. School is often interactive and fun; physical movement throughout the day is important for everyone—not for just students.
3. Make Reading a Priority. Add reading to the schedule in a few different ways: parent reads aloud, child reads aloud (if the child can read), and family individual reading time. If you want to extend the reading time block, go for it! Reading has many benefits for both learning and well-being.
4. Schedule Screen Time. The home learning schedule won’t feel restrictive if screens are allowed for set periods of time. Learn More 
5. Relax the Rules. Everyone’s household will have different needs and expectations for what will be required in the days and weeks ahead. Do whatever works best for you and your family. If your children are willing to work on math worksheets or practise cursive writing, fantastic! If not, that’s ok too. Focus on learning in whatever style meets your family’s needs most, whether it’s using online resources or simply reading a book.

Not sure how to start a schedule? Oxford Learning can help! We created this sample schedule for you! Download and print your free copy.

The post The Importance of Sticking to Schedules When School’s Out appeared first on Oxford Learning.

London, ON—Oxford Learning Centres, Inc. announced all the launch of its newest online learning platform, Virtual Table.

“The Virtual Table model has been in the works for the last couple of years,” said Lenka Whitehead, President Oxford Learning Centres, Inc. “However, given the current global pandemic, school closures and instability, our Head Office team, with the help of many of our franchisees, rushed to complete the launch of this very effective learning model to make it available to our families and students.” 

According to Whitehead, the pilot program, in trials over the last several months, showed positive gains in learning skills and in academics for all students in attendance. With schools closed indefinitely, and closures of other child-directed programs as a result of COVID-19, remote learning programs have quickly become the norm for many families.

“We hope that by launching the Virtual Table program now, we will be able to not only help keep our students on track academically, but also offer a bit of the daily academic structure that students are already familiar with,” said Whitehead. “Our centres are receiving extremely positive feedback from students who have tried the Virtual Table program and from parents looking to provide at-home academic learning program solutions with our proprietary curriculum.  for their children. Social distancing and keeping everyone healthy is our priority,” she adds. 

“We understand that this is a time of uncertainty for all of us. Parents will be particularly concerned as the current climate may be especially alarming for children who may be feeling unsettled or insecure by the rapid change to their regular routines. Our social media channels will have regular updates and different free learning and thinking activities for students and parents. Parents will not be required to sign up or give us their personal information.” she added.

“This is an incredible time that we are in,” said Whitehead. “While the overall climate and the uncertainty about what the future holds is unclear, we have seen marvellous work being done both by the team here at Oxford Learning and by educators everywhere. It is both a privilege and an honour to witness such an amazing coming together by the education community. We are here to help in any way we can.”

For more information, contact your local Oxford Learning centre or Oxford Learning Head Office at info@oxfordlearning.com

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About Oxford Learning Established in 1984, Oxford Learning has grown to include more than 124 locations across Canada as well internationally. Oxford Learning goes beyond tutoring to help students reach their learning potential, not just for one grade or one year, but for a lifetime. The unique programs teach children to learn how to learn. Visit Oxford Learning online at oxfordlearning.com for complete program information.

The post Oxford Learning Centres Launch Online Learning Program Virtual Table™ appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Job action, work-to-rule, or strike: whether it is across a single school board or across an entire province, when school days are interrupted, it impacts both home and school life.

Strikes also inevitably lead to the question—how many days of missed classes does it take before students’ learning progress is affected? 

The answer will depend on the age and grade of the student. For the lower grades, learning expectations are not necessarily tied to the time that students spend in class, so it’s unlikely that learning will be greatly impacted by missing a few days of school spread out over several months.

However, for upper-grade students on track to post-secondary education, strike days could lead to missing out on valuable instruction on important concepts that might be needed later on. It’s also a disruption to habits and routines that students rely on to keep learning momentum flowing.

While it’s unlikely that school boards or the provincial government would let any strike get to the point that the academic year would be in serious jeopardy, parents concerned about their child’s progress should take the following steps to help keep their kids’ learning on track during strike days.

Keep Learning on Track During Strike Days. Here’s How:

• Talk to Students About Days Off. Most students will likely view strike days as a fun opportunity to take a consequence-free day off school! Parents can help their kids understand that one or two days off can be okay for taking a break from school, but that after a few days off, learning can be affected. 

• Create Learning Adventures. Whether it’s unstructured learning opportunities such as a trip to a museum or visiting a local heritage site, shift any scheduled activities toward learning opportunities. Have children research the activity and discuss any learning outcomes together.

• Work on Schoolwork. Teachers may not be assigning homework, but even younger students can at least review any notes in their binders, organize their backpacks, or get started on an upcoming project.

• Seek Additional Learning Support. Learning centres such as Oxford Learning often have additional hours of operation available for students who may feel that they are falling behind. If there are concepts to review that would otherwise require a teacher’s support, tutors can help bridge that gap.

Find more helpful learning tips in our learning on school breaks checklist!

No Report Cards? No Worries.

One of the potential outcomes of work-to-rule is that term and final report cards may be suspended. While report cards are important benchmarks that show student learning progression over time, they are not the only way for parents to gauge how well their children are performing in school.

Five ways to determine how your child is performing in school when report cards are on hold.

1. Review Homework—report cards are typically a gathering spot for your child’s schoolwork up to this point. Rather than waiting for a single report card to show an average mark of your child’s performance, look at any homework that has been returned to your child. Whether it’s big projects or small assignments, look at the marks and review any comments.
2. Look at Test Marks—if your child has had any tests returned, look at the marks and comments.
3. Look at the School Agenda—if your child has a school agenda, is it being filled in properly? Are homework, assignments and projects being recorded?
4. Gauge School Attitude—How is your child feeling about school generally? Is he or she ambivalent? Engaged? Dispirited? Your child’s overall feelings about school can be a great compass pointing toward how well he or she is performing academically.
5. Review the previous report card—Whether it was from last term or last year, if struggles had been identified and there hasn’t been any direction toward resolving them, then those issues are likely still present. The flip of that is that if your child had a great previous report card, and there have been no real changes, it’s likely that everything is still on track.

For additional help with keeping your child’s learning on track during teachers’ strike, contact the Oxford Learning Centre nearest you.

Find an Oxford Learning location now.

The post What to Do When Teachers Strike appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Helping families find solutions to their educational needs is Oxford Learning’s mandate. Helping students in-centre with customized programs personalized to their unique academic needs is one part of fulfilling that mandate. Oxford Learning’s website is the other part. Through engaging, topical, timely, and informative posts, articles, and downloads, as well as program and enrolment information, the website’s goal is to promote Oxford Learning’s brand strategy to become Canada’s go-to education support resource.

Building a stronger web presence with custom-created content on a wide range of educational topics helps more parents find solutions for their children’s supplemental academic needs.

“When kids are not reaching their academic potential and parents are seeking support, we want them to find Oxford Learning. Whether they are looking for articles or enrolment information, the new website makes getting information to parents easier than ever,” said Glenn Whitehead, VP of Oxford Learning.

From customized location management to improved visuals and simplified social sharing features, the newly launched site will deliver specific and relevant information to all users.

“The team at Northern turned our vision of reaching a larger Canadian audience into a reality, and we’re confident that the new site will help us continue to expand the Oxford Learning brand,” said Whitehead.

“We are very excited about the launch of this project, as it is, hands down, one of the most extraordinary websites we’ve built to date,” said Corey Dubeau, VP Marketing at Northern Commerce.

“We worked very closely with the team at Oxford Learning Centre, performing thorough market research and user experience testing in order to create something that would be both industry-leading and packed full of educational resources.”

Visit the new website at oxfordlearning.com

For more information about Oxford Learning, contact Martina Lavoie 519.473.1207 ext. 101; mlavoie@oxfordlearning.com

For more information about Northern, contact Joyce Kmith 1.866.930.4608; jkmith@northern.co

The post Oxford Learning Announces Newly Redesigned Website appeared first on Oxford Learning.

The answer is Peter Dyakowski! Peter is winner of Canada’s Smartest Person (2012), a professional football player for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and also a partner at Oxford Learning Hamilton, where he helps area students improve their smarts, and get better grades.

As an Oxford Learning franchisee, Peter helps young children strengthen their love of reading with our Little Readers program, which builds not only a strong foundation in reading skills, but equips students with better thinking and learning abilities, a skill that no doubt is invaluable when competing for the title of Canada’s Smartest Person!

Not to be outdone, Peter also recently appeared on the current season of Jeopardy, and while he didn’t take home the title of Jeopardy Champ, we know that he had fun, which is what learning is all about.

Peter is also a Grey Cup Silver Medalist, proving that athletes can definitely out perform their non-athletic counterparts, both on and off the field.

Congratulations on all your successes, Peter!

You can read more about Peter and his Canada’s Smartest Person win here
and follow Peter on Twitter @PeterDyaskowski

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