Teaching math in the morning, when students are more attentive
and energetic, instead of in the afternoon, when they can become
tired, could improve learning. That’s only one of the
interesting findings in an interesting study by Ontario’s
Education Quality and Accountability Office. EQAO, which
administers the province’s standardized tests for elementary and
high school students, divided test results from 2008-2009 and
2009-2010 into two groups, high-achieving schools and low-
achieving schools. Schools where 75 per cent or more of students
achieved the provincial standard were defined as high-achieving.
Those where fewer than half of students achieved the standard
were defined as low-achieving. Then researchers studied
differences in attitude, behaviour and practices among
principals, teachers and students to try to explain, at least in
part, the gap between the two groups. It’s part of a larger,
more comprehensive study to better understand what contributes
to higher achievement. What’s interesting is that